Curt Cignetti's first season as Indiana's head football coach included a College Football Playoff bid, which was the first in school history, seven different national or conference coach of the year awards and a program record for wins both overall (11) and in the Big Ten (8). The Hoosiers finished ranked No. 10 in the AP poll, the highest since 1967, yet people are still not buying into the hype entering the 2025 season.
One ESPN College Football Analyst and Insider is though and that man is Pete Thamel, who was recently featured on the "College Football Podcast" on ESPN and had this to say about Indiana's expectations this season.
“I am going to take Indiana with my final pick,” Thamel said on the ESPN College Football Podcast.
What stands out the most to Thamel, and why he’s a ‘believer’ of Indiana, is IU's quarterback play.
“If you look at what Curt Cignetti has done with quarterbacks, going back to JMU, they have pretty much had the quarterback who is the conference player of the year or leads the conference in passing every season,” Thamel said. “There is a lot of great buzz around … Todd McShay, he loves Mendoza. Mendoza is — there’s probably 10 or 11 quarterbacks who could be considered first round picks this year — this is a golden age of college quarterbacks. Mendoza, in that (Cignetti) system that has produced nothing but effective and efficient quarterbacks, is going to thrive.”
A key to Indiana's success and a forgotten piece of their future is their defense and stability within ther coaching staff.
They retain all but one main coach from last seasons team, losing Tino Sunseri to UCLA. Cignetti was able to keep DC Bryant Haines and OC Mike Shanahan around for at least another season, while also keeping All-Americans D'Angelo Ponds (nine PBUs in 2024), Mikail Kamara (15 TFLs in 2024) and Aiden Fisher (118 tackles in 2024).
“They had the number two defense in the country last year,” Thamel added. “Now are they going to have the number two defense in the country (this year), no. But they have all-big ten lynchpins at all three levels coming back on defense.
“Until Cignetti starts to lose games, I am a believer,” Thamel said. “I think they have a ton of personnel and you have to trust him with his portal evals at this point, too.”
We made our CFP picks on the @CollegeGameDay Podcast. I went with Indiana making a return trip, as there’s faith in Fernando Mendoza with Cignetti/Shanahan’s history with QBs. Also, shout to @McShay13, who loves Mendoza as a prospect. https://t.co/NXD3MT0kwI pic.twitter.com/o85Mz5rJ4T
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 26, 2025
Indiana ranked No. 20 in the nation, opens their 2025 season on Saturday at home vs. Old Dominion as 22 point favorites. The Hoosiers’ first game against a ranked opponent is scheduled for September. 20th, when they host No. 12 Illinois.
Here's the full episode on Youtube and ESPN College Gameday Podcast below: