In the College Football Playoff era, only one program has won back-to-back National Championships (Georgia in 2021-22 and 2022-23). The Indiana Hoosiers are looking to become the second team to accomplish that feat after going 16-0 and winning the National Championship last season.
It's clear that Indiana has plenty of staying power in 2026 under Curt Cignetti. The Hoosiers are among the preseason national title favorites, and the program has quickly gone from feel-good story to legitimate national powerhouse.
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When looking at past National Champions from the last 50+ years, one clear trend emerges––and Indiana should have no problem keeping it alive in 2026.
Recent defending national champions have this trend in common
Unsurprisingly, past national champs have followed up their title-winning campaigns with plenty of wins.
More specifically, every national champion in the 21st century has won at least eight games the following season (excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 season). Even more specific than that, the last defending national champ who failed to reach eight wins the following season was Ohio State all the way back in 1971. That means we have more than 50 years of this trend showing that title-defending teams have had little trouble reaching eight wins the following season.
None of the previous teams to do so orchestrated the kind of turnaround that Indiana has. The Hoosiers went from the program with the most losses in college football history to a national title in just two seasons. And looking ahead, Indiana should cruise to the eight-win threshold this season while making some serious CFP noise once again.
Indiana should easily reach the 8-win mark in 2026
Indiana's win total for the upcoming season is 10.5 on DraftKings Sportsbook. That is tied with Oregon and Ohio State for the highest in the Big Ten and is tied for the second-highest win total in the country. It's not a stretch to say that Indiana will be favored in at least 11 games, with the Ohio State matchup being the lone exception.
When looking at the schedule, there are plenty of winnable games. The Hoosiers should roll to victories in the non-conference against North Texas, Howard, and Western Kentucky. The Hoosiers also have extremely favorable matchups against Northwestern, Rutgers, and Nebraska. In an ideal world, Indiana is 6-0 heading into its October 17 showdown against Ohio State.
A tough matchup at Michigan awaits the following week, which creates what is without a doubt Indiana's toughest two-game stretch of the campaign. After that, Indiana has home matchups against Minnesota, USC, and Purdue, as well as a road contest at Washington down the stretch.
With that schedule, as well as the vast amount of returning production on the defensive side of the ball and strong transfer portal additions on offense, the Hoosiers should be able to easily reach the eight-win mark to keep this historic streak alive. In fact, a 9-3 season may be considered the floor at this point in time. But in the end, Cignetti and company are capable of more.
Cignetti is 27-2 during his two seasons in Bloomington, and has lost just a single Big Ten game. He has not lost to a team with a losing record, as his two losses came to Ohio State and Notre Dame in 2024––the two teams that competed in the CFP National Championship Game that season. That proven pedigree speaks for itself, and gives Hoosier football fans plenty of confidence in Indiana's staying power this season.
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