Curt Cignetti has led the Indiana football program to one of the greatest turnarounds in sports history. In just two seasons, Cignetti has turned the Hoosiers from a vastly overlooked program to a national powerhouse. Coming off a 16-0 season that culminated in a historic National Championship, expectations are high for the Hoosiers heading into the 2026 campaign.
Those expectations are likely to be reflected in the AP Top-25 Preseason Poll when it is released next month. Indiana's highest ranking in the Preseason Poll came back in 1968 with a No. 13 ranking, but they are in a strong position to shatter that record in 2026. The Hoosiers have never been featured in the Top-10, but that seems like a lock to change this year. A Top-5 ranking seems extremely likely, and there's a strong chance that Indiana claims the No. 1 spot in the poll.
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But in the end, the rankings in the preseason poll are just numbers. It's far too early to know for sure how teams stack up against one another, and there are so many unknowns for every program in every conference. The real work comes afterward on the gridiron from September through January.
Indiana's preseason ranking ultimately won't mean much
While the preseason rankings aren't the end-all be-all, Indiana claiming the No. 1 spot in the AP Top-25 Preseason Poll would certainly be cool to see. It would continue to signal just how far the Hoosiers have come under Cignetti, and show that the Hoosiers are a well-respected program that is expected to compete for another national title in Year 3 of the Cignetti era.
With that being said, Indiana has already shown that the preseason rankings don't mean much in the grand scheme of things.
Last season, Indiana's National Championship run made history for several reasons. In regard to the AP Top-25 Preseason Poll, IU became the first team in the College Football Playoff era to win the National Championship after not being ranked in the Top-6 of the preseason poll. The Hoosiers came in at No. 20, and went on to go 16-0 and win the school's first-ever national title in football. Thus, Indiana's standing in the preseason rankings ultimately didn't mean a whole lot.
Indiana was the first team in the CFP era to win the national title after not being ranked in the preseason top-6. The Hoosiers were No. 20 in the 2025 preseason AP poll. https://t.co/163cWdKIyy
— Mike Schumann @ The Daily Hoosier (@daily_hoosier) July 3, 2026
Looking ahead, Cignetti has Indiana well-positioned for another sensational campaign in 2026. Despite losing plenty of elite production on both sides of the ball to the NFL, IU's roster has been re-stocked through the transfer portal. The class is headlined by incoming transfers QB Josh Hoover and WR Nick Marsh. As a whole, Indiana's group of incoming transfers is ranked as the No. 8 portal class in the country by 247Sports.
Several key returners are also in line for monster seasons. Among IU's returners are WR Charlie Becker, LB Rolijah Hardy, DL Tyrique Tucker, DB Jamari Sharpe, and CB Amare Ferrell.
In total, the roster is in good shape and Cignetti's leadership makes Indiana another title threat this upcoming season -- regardless of where they fall in the preseason poll.
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