Longtime college football expert Phil Steele has published his rankings for the 2025-26 season, and where he places Indiana may be disappointing to Hoosiers fans.
In his preseason magazine, Steele lists the Hoosiers as the sixth-best team in the Big Ten and No. 20 overall, right outside of the CFB Playoffs.
The Hoosiers are ranked 44th in the country according to ESPN FPI Index and are set to return 61% of their production. A significant loss for the team is quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who recorded a single-season school record of 29 passing touchdowns in 2024 and finished ninth in the Heisman Trophy voting.
Fernando Mendoza, a transfer from the California Golden Bears, will take over for Rourke at quarterback. Mendoza threw for 3,004 yards, 16 touchdowns and six interceptions, and completed 68.7% of his passes in 2024. The Hoosiers will benefit from the return of three All-American's on defense in Edge Rusher Mikail Kamara, Linebacker Aiden Fisher and Cornerback D'Angelo Ponds.
Here is Steele’s full Big Ten predicted order of finish for 2025:
Phil Steele’s 2025 Big Ten Football projected order of finish:
- Penn State Nittany Lions
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Oregon Ducks
- Michigan Wolverines
- Illinois Fighting Illini
- Indiana Hoosiers
- USC Trojans
- Nebraska Cornhuskers
- Iowa Hawkeyes
- Minnesota Golden Gophers
- Washington Huskies
- Wisconsin Badgers
- Rutgers Scarlet Knights
- Michigan State Spartans
- UCLA Bruins
- Northwestern Wildcats
- Maryland Terrapins
- Purdue Boilermakers
Fall camp begins this month on July 30 and the Hoosiers is game of the season is against Old Dominion on August 30th.
Number of preseason All-Big Ten players per team, per Phil Steele’s College Football Magazine pic.twitter.com/9s8CDNuaPz
— The Big Ten Huddle 🎙️ (@TheBigTenHuddle) July 8, 2025