Now that the Indiana Hoosiers are back in the College Football Playoff once again, it is all about seeding. After making it in for the first time in program history last year as the No. 10 seed at 11-1, Indiana did nine spots better with a perfect 12-0 regular season and a Big Ten Championship to boot over the then-No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes. Indiana is now No. 1, while knocking Ohio State down a peg.
While there is still a chance at a rematch in Miami much later on, Indiana winning the Big Ten was doubly good for them. Not only will they avoid Ohio State up until the national title bout, but the other side of the bracket from the Hoosiers is far more treacherous than what they might have to navigate. All it will take is three more IU victories in a row to make the impossibly improbable totally incredible!
For those who might need a bit of a refresher, these are the 12 teams who make up the playoff field.
- Indiana Hoosiers (13-0): Big Ten champion
- Ohio State Buckeyes (12-1): Big Ten runner-up
- Georgia Bulldogs (12-1): SEC champion
- Texas Tech Red Raiders (12-1): Big 12 champion
- Oregon Ducks (11-1): Big Ten at-large
- Ole Miss Rebels (11-1): SEC at-large
- Texas A&M Aggies (11-1): SEC at-large
- Oklahoma Sooners (10-2): SEC at-large
- Alabama Crimson Tide (10-3): SEC runner-up
- Miami Hurricanes (10-2): ACC at-large
- Tulane Green Wave (11-2): AAC champion
- James Madison Dukes (12-1): Sun Belt champion
Indiana will have a first-round bye, as will Ohio State, Georgia, and Texas Tech. Teams seeded No. 5 through No. 12 will play in first-round games. The winners of those will advance to the quarterfinals to take on a predetermined opponent in Indiana, Ohio State, Georgia, and Texas Tech. As we look ahead at what the bracket has in store for us, Indiana needs to get to the national title bout with its big break.
Let's now unpack why Indiana's path to playing for a national championship could be a total cakewalk.
Indiana's potential path to playing for a CFP National Championship
Because Indiana is the No. 1 seed in the entire tournament, the Hoosiers will await the winner of the No. 8 vs. No. 9 game in the quarterfinals bowl game location of their choosing, which will be the Rose Bowl as Big Ten champions. Indiana will play either No. 8 Oklahoma or No. 9 Alabama in Pasadena. Oklahoma has the worst offense in the field, while Alabama cannot run the football for the life of it.
Although top-seeded Oregon lost to No. 8 Ohio State in an absolute bludgeoning in the Rose Bowl a year ago, that is not bound to happen, no matter who Indiana faces in the Rose Bowl. Assuming the Hoosiers win that game, next up for them will be the Peach Bowl, where they will await one of three teams: The No. 4 Texas Tech Red Raiders, No. 5 Oregon Ducks, or the No. 12 James Madison Dukes.
Texas Tech also has a bye to the national quarterfinals, as they will be playing the winner of James Madison at Oregon in the Orange Bowl. James Madison has no shot to face Curt Cignetti's former team, while Indiana has already beaten Oregon at their place this season. If chalk prevails, it will be Texas Tech, a team with a great defense, but questionable offense. Oregon are such fake tough guys.
So in all likelihood, Indiana's path to Miami will be a national quarterfinals win over Oklahoma or Alabama in the Rose Bowl, followed by a national semifinals win over either Texas Tech or Oregon in the Peach Bowl. Indiana will not have to play teams like Ohio State, Georgia, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Miami or Tulane until the national championship. They are totally going to beat each other up first.
To attempt to tie a bow on this, Indiana beating Ohio State not only got them the top seed, but also doomed the Buckeyes to play a much more difficult bracket. They will get the winner of No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Miami in the Cotton Bowl before having to face either Georgia, Ole Miss, or Tulane in the Fiesta Bowl. Georgia has the much easier path to the quarterfinals than even the Buckeyes do.
In short, the winner of presumably Ohio State vs. Georgia in Phoenix will be the most formidable challenger to Indiana in the national title bout, assuming chalk prevails up to that point. Indiana is a little more battle-tested than one would think as an undefeated team at 13-0. For whatever reason, Georgia feels like the team most likely to meet Indiana in Miami. Ohio State is so grossly overrated.
For now, Indiana may not have to wipe the sweat off its brow until the national title bout at the earliest.