Thanks to Indiana's historic National Championship this past January, the Big Ten conference continued its reign at the top of the college football world. For years, that title undoubtedly belonged to the SEC. But the times are changing.
A Big Ten team has now won the national title in three consecutive seasons (Michigan in 2024, Ohio State in 2025, Indiana in 2026), and with those victories, the conversation about the top conference in college football has shifted.
Raiders win-loss predictions are sleeping on Fernando Mendoza’s NFL readiness
Former Florida and Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer won National Championships in both leagues. Meyer orchestrated one of the best dynasties college football has seen during his time in Gainesville, winning national titles in 2006 and 2008. He then led the Buckeyes to the first national title in the four-team College Football Playoff era in 2014.
Former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer points to Indiana as an example of why the Big Ten is the top college football conference
While appearing on The Script, Meyer talked to former Ohio State players Cardale Jones and Beanie Wells about various topics surrounding the current landscape of college football. During the conversation, he explained why he believes the Big Ten is now the premiere conference in all of college football.
"I don't believe the Big Ten was very serious back in 2012...You have to give Penn State credit. They got real serious. The Wolverines got real serious. Other teams in that conference got real serious. You go in there now with Big Noon, and some of these environments are fantastic. Go ask how the boys are doing in Bloomington, Indiana. They got real serious about the game of football. Illinois, they got real serious. I think the Big Ten, and there's a lot of credit to go around, the Big Ten got real serious about the game of football."Urban Meyer
Meyer discusses how he could tell that other teams around the Big Ten weren't serious about football when he first arrived in the conference back in 2012. He said that the programs didn't care about winning and the venues weren't difficult to play in. Well, it's safe to say that things are a lot different now.
Indiana has plenty of staying power under Curt Cignetti
Meyer lists several teams that weren't serious about building a football winner back in 2012. He then gives Indiana a shoutout by saying "Go ask the boys in Bloomington, Indiana. They got real serious about the game of football."
Indiana's philosophy has been simple: Hire the right coach and let him cook. Curt Cignetti has turned things around in a major way in Bloomington, and it didn't take long. Indiana won just nine games overall and three games in Big Ten play in the final three seasons before Cignetti took over. Since then, IU is 27-2 with just a single Big Ten loss and has won a Big Ten title, Rose Bowl, Peach Bowl, and CFP National Championship Game. What he has done at Indiana is simply incredible.
NIL has also been a big advantage for the Hoosiers, as IU's large alumni base has been able to get directly involved. Indiana's success under Cignetti has caused other Big Ten schools to get serious about winning as well. Opposing teams in the conference think "If Cignetti can do it at Indiana, we can do it here." That isn't a bad thought, but they don't have Cignetti.
Looking ahead, Indiana is set to enter the 2026 campaign among the National Championship favorites. With Cignetti at the helm, Indiana has plenty of staying power on the national stage.
Add us as a preferred source on Google