Why Indiana’s 2026 Team Has a Legitimate Case as the Best Ever

From the onset of College Football Playoff expansion, it was always going to be just a matter of time before we had our first 16–0 FBS champion.

It took five years before we had our first 15–0 champion (Clemson in 2018) once the four-team CFP began in 2014.

So it’s a bit of a surprise that in just the second year of the 12-team playoff, one team is one win away from perfection.

The real surprise, though, is the team which is that close to doing it.

No one would have believed back in August of 2024 that Indiana and Curt Cignetti would be the ones with the first chance to make history.

Indiana, which had never had even a 10-win season 14 months ago.

Indiana, the losingest program in college football history.

That same Indiana can have a legitimate claim at having the single-best team in college football history if it beats Miami on Monday night to bring home a national championship the fanbase probably never imagined was a remote possibility.

Even before the final game begins, Indiana already has the best single-season point differential by a team in the CFP era at +473. That’s six points better than 2018 Clemson (+467) and 75 points better than 2019 LSU (+398), a recent team thrust into the “best of all time” conversation.

One could point out the schedule discrepancy between those two teams. Indiana played just two teams in the regular season which ended up in the final CFP rankings. That LSU team played just three teams in the final rankings.

Any doubt of Indiana’s candidacy has been put to rest by the Hoosiers’ strong run over their last three games.

As great as their 12–0 regular season was, plenty of people doubted if No. 2 Indiana could beat No. 1 Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game. It did, 13–10.

Then there were the doubts about how Indiana would measure up against Alabama from the mighty Southeastern Conference. Incredibly well, as it turns out, in a 38–3 domination in the Rose Bowl.

Through two years of the 12-team playoff, Indiana is the only top-four seed to win its quarterfinal. The others are 0–7.

Then came the semifinal, where it seemed entirely possible an extremely talented Oregon would avenge its only loss of the season and beat Indiana in a Peach Bowl rematch. Once again, Indiana left no doubt, wrapping things up well before the clock hit zero in a 56–22 destruction.

The Hoosiers have a Heisman-winning quarterback, elite skill-position players, dominant trenches and an opportunistic, stifling defense.

And perhaps most importantly for their candidacy in the best team of all time conversation, they take opponents’ souls, as evidenced by the CFP run to date.

If Indiana can beat Miami — in front of what should be a heavy Hoosier crowd based on its first two playoff games even if the game is being played in the Hurricanes’ home stadium — it has a legitimate case to be made.

Considering Indiana’s track record as a program, I’m still not sure we’ve given Cignetti enough credit for the monster he’s built in Bloomington.

And considering the loaded transfer class joining the program next season, it seems clear the Hoosiers aren’t going anywhere.