Coming off a perfect 16-0 season and a historic National Championship, the Indiana football program has high hopes of competing for another title in the 2026-27 season. Curt Cignetti has re-stocked IU's roster with a strong transfer portal class, and key returners on the offensive line and defensive front figures to make a major impact once again.
Predicting Indiana's next 3 commitments as Official Visit season ends
For the most part, Indiana's 2026 schedule shapes up nicely. At this point in the offseason, Strength of Schedule (SOS) rankings rely heavily on predictions and presumptions. It's simply too early to have data and analytics reliably featured in SOS rankings, but they can still be amusing to comb through.
The Hoosiers have some tough assignments on the 2026 schedule, but their overall SOS is not among the toughest in the country.
Indiana's 2026 schedule is manageable -- for the most part
Here is a breakdown of who Indiana faces in its National Championship-defending season:
Non-conference opponents: North Texas, Howard, Western Kentucky
Big Ten opponents: Northwestern, at Rutgers, at Nebraska, Ohio State, at Michigan, Minnesota, USC, at Washington, Purdue
Big Ten teams IU avoids: Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan State, Oregon, Penn State, UCLA, Wisconsin
Based on rankings from College Football News, Indiana's 2026 SOS ranks 50th in the country. That ranks as the 16th-toughest schedule among all Big Ten teams. Purdue (No. 4), Oregon (No. 6), Michigan (No. 7), USC (No. 15), Michigan State (No. 16), Ohio State (No. 17), UCLA (No. 21), Maryland (No. 23), Washington (No. 26), Minnesota (No. 34), Northwestern (No. 36), Rutgers (No. 39), Illinois (No. 40), Wisconsin (No. 43), and Nebraska (No. 46) all have tougher schedules than Indiana.
IU's non-conference schedule under Cignetti has drawn plenty of criticism, but his strategy has proven to be effective. The 2026 non-conference slate should once again be a breeze, which should get the Hoosiers off to a strong 3-0 start.
The month of October could present some challenges, as three of Indiana's five games are on the road. The month starts with back-to-back road games at Rutgers and Nebraska, and then the heavy hitters come calling.
There's no denying that Indiana's toughest game of the 2026 schedule comes on October 17 against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Ryan Day handed Cignetti his only conference loss at Indiana two years ago, but Cignetti was able to get revenge in last December's Big Ten Championship Game. Now the Buckeyes are looking for revenge when they come to Bloomington in mid-October. This has serious Game of the Year potential.
One week after hosting the Buckeyes, the Hoosiers head north to Ann Arbor to face the Michigan Wolverines. That won't be an easy contest, as Kyle Whittingham seems to have the Wolverines trending in the right direction.
After hosting Minnesota on Halloween, tricky matchups against USC and at Washington await in November. Those contests can't be overlooked either, but they aren't as intimidating as facing Ohio State and Michigan on the road in back-to-back weeks. The season wraps up against Purdue on November 28, and Indiana has won the last two Battles for the Old Oaken Bucket by a combined score of 122-3.
Overall, there are some tough challenges for sure. But not having a preseason Strength of Schedule ranking among the toughest in the country puts the Hoosiers in a prime position to make another College Football Playoff run this season. They would likely need to drop three games to be out of CFP contention, and this schedule gives Cignetti and company a great chance to avoid that problem.
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