College football starts in a few weeks with Week 0 kicking off on August 23rd, with Indiana starting their season against Old Dominion.
On Monday, Fox Sports’ College Football Analyst Joel Klatt released his preseason top 25 teams on Monday, showcasing where he thinks the best teams in college football including IU stack up in the nation, released on The Joel Klatt Show.
""I don't think Indiana's going anywhere, much to the chagrin of some. Indiana was totally a Cinderella last year, but it returns many key contributors from that team, such as defensive end Mikail Kamara, linebacker Aiden Fisher and cornerback D'Angelo Ponds. Offensively, wide receiver Elijah Sarratt and four starters along the line return. On top of all that, Indiana got former Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the No. 4 quarterback in the portal. I think Mendoza's going to have a really good year.""Joel Klatt
Thoughts on @joelklatt’s Preseason Top 25? pic.twitter.com/rCrU51YrWw
— The Joel Klatt Show: A CFB Pod (@JoelKlattShow) August 4, 2025
Joel Klatt had this to say about Curt Cignetti and if Indiana was a one year wonder or ready for the same success under year two:
"Indiana is here, frankly, to stay. Indiana is going to go at 17. I don't think there's going to be a major drop off. One, their schedule is favorable as was the case a year ago. And here's the thing, Curt Cignetti, I Googled him and he does in fact win. Good suggestion, Curt. The 11 wins last year not an an anomaly for this guy. Did you know and if you'd Googled him you'd know this. He's 130- 37 in his 14 seasons as a head coach. He's never had a losing season, the guy is a proven commodity. He tried to tell everybody, you know, Google me. I win. Yeah, you do. And Cig is perfect in Indiana." said Klatt
Klatt also stated he think Fernnando Mendoza will succeed at replacing Kurtis Rourke:
"Here's the thing, it's not just about the head coach. You've also got to have other things that I like at, like quarterback. Do they need to replace Kurtis Rourke? Yes. Now, we didn't really know who Kurtis was before last season. So, you've got this philosophy with Cignetti and the Indiana coaching staff where they understand how to pick their quarterback and it worked out last year. So, I trust that they're picking their quarterback again and they're going to hit again. This time with Fernando Mendoza, he transfers in from Cal with a ton of hype"
"Outside of the quarterback, they've got a ton of talent still there. This is not a team that just got decimated by the draft or by the portal. They've got a lot of guys back. Wide receiver Elijah Sarratt is a really good player. They broughtin Roman Hemby, the running back from Maryland, a guy that I've loved at Maryland. They've got three all-American candidates on their defense, one on each level of the defense. And as you know, if you've listened to this program for any length of time, I love their defense. Led by defensive end Mikail Kamara, linebacker Aiden Fisher, and cornerback D'Angelo Ponds. So, Indiana is at 17 in the preseason poll." Klatt ended with
The USA Today Coaches poll also dropped today, with the official AP Top 25 coming out next Monday.
For more of Joel Klatt's ranking and takes here is more below: