After a historic National Championship winning season in 2025, the Hoosiers aren't going anywhere. Curt Cignetti has ignited a fire in Bloomington, and after going 16-0 en route to a national title, Hoosier fans are eager to see what he can cook up in 2026.
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Plenty of new faces will be on the roster, but of the handful of teams who can realistically win the College Football Playoff next season, the Indiana Hoosiers are certainly one of them. Oddsmakers agree, as Indiana's win total for the 2026 season is among the highest in the country.
Indiana's win total sits at the top of the Big Ten
On Friday, FanDuel Sportsbook released 2026 win totals for the Power 4 conferences. Indiana's win total is listed at 10.5, which is tied with Oregon for the highest mark in the Big Ten. The high projection signals that the Hoosiers are here to stay when it comes to competing for another Big Ten title and a shot at back-to-back National Championships.
🚨PATE STATE ALERT🚨
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Big Ten win totals released by @FDSportsbook pic.twitter.com/bmbl7xjkSd
Around the rest of the conference, Ohio State and Penn State both have win totals of 9.5, while USC and Michigan are listed at 8.5. Illinois, Washington, and Iowa have win totals of 7.5, and Wisconsin and UCLA are both listed at 6.5. The bottom-half of the projections have Nebraska, Minnesota, and Northwester at 5.5, with Rutgers and Maryland at 4.5. Michigan State and Purdue round out the Big Ten with win totals of 3.5.
It's important to remember that these win total projections are solely in regard to the regular season. Conference championships, bowl games, and CFP games do not count toward these win total projections.
Expectations are much higher for IU in 2026
After taking the Hoosiers to the College Football Playoff in his first season in Bloomington, oddsmakers expected Cignetti to lead IU to another strong season, but maybe not a dominating National Championship season.
Entering the 2025 season, IU's win total was listed at 8.5. Fernando Mendoza and company easily cleared that number by going a perfect 12-0 in the regular season. Now with a win total of 10.5, oddsmakers have much higher expectations for the Hoosiers.
The Hoosiers begin the new season on Saturday, September 5 with a home matchup against North Texas. An official kick-off time has yet to be announced.