Heading in to the start of the 2026 college football season, the argument can be made that the Indiana Hoosiers deserve to be ranked as the No. 1 team in the country.
The Hoosiers are 27-2 under Curt Cignetti and are coming off a perfect 16-0 season and National Championship. The entire coaching staff is back, as are key returners on both sides of the ball as well as a talented transfer portal class that is ranked as the top portal class in the nation according to On3. No matter how you slice it, the Hoosiers are primed for another big season.
Ranking the Hoosiers No. 1 in the AP preseason poll has been an argument we've made here at Hoosier State of Mind. But after coming in at No. 6, not being ranked in the top spot may be a blessing in disguise for Indiana.
Preseason No. 1 teams haven't lived up to the billing in recent memory
The No. 1 spot in the 2026 AP preseason poll belongs to the Ohio State Buckeyes. In recent memory, earning the No. 1 ranking in the AP preseason poll has been more of a curse than a blessing.
Over the last 2+ decades, 20 of the last 22 teams ranked in the No. 1 spot at the start of the season failed to win the National Championship. Living up to that billing has been tough to do, and could even be considered something of a jinx. But now, it's something that the Hoosiers don't have to worry about this season.
For Ohio State specifically, this is the 9th time in program history that the Buckeyes have been ranked No. 1 to start the season. However, OSU did not win the National Championship in the previous eight times. That spells good news for Indiana, who is slated to take on the Buckeyes in a heavyweight matchup on October 17 at Memorial Stadium.
Indiana poised to keep the momentum rolling under Curt Cignetti
Indiana's preseason ranking continues to show just how far the IU football program has come under Cignetti's leadership. The Hoosiers won just 9 total games and went 3-24 in Big Ten play in the 3 seasons before Cignetti's arrival. Since the, Indiana has gone 27-2 and made a pair of College Football Playoff appearances to go along with a Big Ten title, and victories in the Rose Bowl, Peach Bowl, and CFP National Championship Game.
Coming in at No. 6, Indiana has officially made program history by earning its first Top-10 preseason ranking and its highest-ever ranking in the AP preseason poll. Furthermore, it's just the 5th time in program history that the Hoosiers have been ranked in the AP preseason poll.
Seeing this amount of overwhelming success in just two seasons has turned Indiana into a national powerhouse on the gridiron. The momentum doesn't appear to be slowing down either, and Cignetti has Indiana primed to compete for another title in 2026. The Hoosiers open the new season on Saturday, September 5 at home against North Texas.
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