ESPN ranks Indiana football No. 1 winner of offseason

Despite facing doubters all season long, Indiana football continued to prove everyone wrong on its way to a national championship. The Hoosiers ran the table to finish 16-0, capping off a magical season under Curt Cignetti with a win over Miami (FL) in the title game.

But Cignetti and company aren’t satisfied with just one national title. The Hoosiers were hard at work this offseason revamping their roster to make another run into the CFP next season, and they did an excellent job.

On Tuesday, Indiana earned the No. 1 spot in ESPN’s offseason rankings, highlighting the job that Cignetti and his staff did replacing all of the pieces that departed Indiana.

Indiana added a lot of defensive linemen both in the portal and from the high school level, so it should have no problem with depth on that side of the ball once again. The secondary will be a bit of a question mark, however, after losing D’Angelo Ponds to the NFL Draft.

Of course, the biggest question surrounding Indiana’s offseason was how they would replace the losses on offense, namely Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Indiana quickly did that by landing a portal commitment from TCU’s Josh Hoover, a talented passer who could easily be in the NFL conversation with a big 2026 season.

Indiana also lost receivers Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr., the latter of whom ended up as a first-round pick after a big 2025. However, Charlie Becker is back and has a chance to be a first-rounder in 2027, and Indiana got one of the best receivers in the portal in Michigan State’s Nick Marsh, another potential first-round pick.

Indiana also retained both of its coordinators under Cignetti, a rarity for a team that had as much success as the Hoosiers did. Bryant Haines has a real argument as the best defensive coordinator in America, while Mike Shanahan is back as the offensive coordinator. With all of that continuity returning, Indiana should be right near the top of the Big Ten again in 2026.

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