The Indiana Hoosiers have proven last season was certainly not a fluke. Head coach Curt Cignetti continues to win games and boost his Google search results, entering the 2025-26 College Football Playoff as the best team in the nation.
Last year, the Hoosiers were undefeated until running into Ohio State in their penultimate regular season game. Skepticism surrounding the team's credibility as a national title contender knocked Indiana down to the 10-seed after being in the Top 4 for most of the season. They shortly fell to in-state foes Notre Dame, the 7-seed, at South Bend in the first round of the playoff.
Now, Cignetti and Co. truly have the nation's attention and will already have improved upon their 2024 result just by remaining idle in the first round. They still have arguably one of the toughest paths to a national title, but the Hoosiers have proven they can handle adversity this time.
What Indiana needs to go right to win the College Football Playoff
As the top seed entering this year's CFP, Indiana really has a simple path — just keep winning. Although, you could say that about just about any team contending, but the Hoosiers would certainly benefit more from some specific matchups.
THE 12-TEAM CFP BRACKET IS SET‼️
— ESPN (@espn) December 7, 2025
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Quarterfinal: No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 8 Oklahoma
Cignetti's boys can rest in Bloomington for the first round as they earned a bye. They'll await the winner of No. 9 Alabama vs. No. 8 Oklahoma in Norman. No matter which team emerges, the Hoosiers will have their hands full at the Rose Bowl.
While the Crimson Tide has three losses, one of which was in the SEC championship to Georgia, it tends to always find momentum when the playoff begins. Oklahoma will be the better matchup despite the Sooners being the seventh-best scoring defense in the nation, as Indiana has a Top 5 scoring offense and defense. Only long-distance fatigue and too long of rest can de-rail Indiana's run this early.
Semifinal: No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 4 Texas Tech
This may seem like a counterintuitive matchup to have the best chance to advance but bear with me. Texas Tech has the No. 3 scoring offense and defense in the country, but the Hoosiers have been in the playoff before (just not this deep). Inexperience could be a serious hamper to the Red Raiders and their offensive blitz will become predictable at some point.
Texas Tech would have to defeat No. 5 Oregon or (unlikely) No. 12 James Madison in the quarterfinal at the Orange Bowl. The Dukes would need a miracle to survive the Ducks and Indiana would not want a rematch with head coach Dan Lanning despite having won at Autzen the last time. Lanning is known for studying tape and correcting mistakes, so Cignetti's tricks would be rendered useless the second time around.
National championship: No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 2 Ohio State
Let's just cut to the chase, none of the teams in the first round on this side of the bracket are going to make it to the semifinals let alone the national championship. It will either be No. 3 Georgia or a rematch with No. 2 Ohio State, and the Hoosiers should be hoping for the latter to emerge from the fray.
Anyone who watched the SEC championship knows Kirby Smart has Georgia hot and they could be the only true threat to Indiana's title hopes. Cignetti handled Ohio State like a veteran and he'd do it again on the biggest stage. The Hoosiers defense can handle just about anything coming its way, except maybe the Bulldogs when they're on a rabid tear.