Paul Finebaum Finally Admits He Was Wrong About Curt Cignetti and Indiana

Finebaum has picked against the Hoosiers for months.

ESPN announcer Paul Finebaum has finally admitted he was wrong about Curt Cignetti and Indiana. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Paul Finebaum has finally owned up to a slew of awful takes about a team he never really believed in.

During Wednesday’s edition of The Paul Finebaum Show, the SEC-loving broadcaster admitted he was wrong about Curt Cignetti and Indiana. All season, Finebaum doubted the Hoosiers and picked against them. Back in October, he claimed Indiana had made a huge mistake by giving Cignetti one of the most lucrative extensions in college football history. Dating back to last season, he has repeatedly dogged Indiana, picking against the team repeatedly.

On Monday night, the Hoosiers threw it back in his face, beating Miami 27–21 in the College Football Playoff title game to secure the program’s first national championship in its 139-year history. Finebaum finally had to admit he was wrong.

Here’s what he had to say:

“There can be debate on whether Indiana had the best season in college football history, but there can be no debate, it is the greatest story in the history of the game. What made it even more amazing is how people misunderstood what Curt Cignetti was doing in Bloomington. Let me assure you, nobody was more incorrect in understanding that process than me.

“Almost everything I said throughout the season about him and about Indiana was wrong. And it was an epic failure on my part. There was no question Indiana was the best team and, yes, the Big Ten is the best conference in the country. We congratulate Coach Cignetti, Indiana and the Big Ten for an extraordinary run.”

A mea culpa with a side of crow about the Hoosiers this season... pic.twitter.com/MCC58o4vbf

— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) January 21, 2026

Finbaum is one of several national pundits who have had to eat their words about Cignetti’s team this season. While seeing a great football team with “Indiana” on the front of its jerseys is odd, the Hoosiers proved it on the field all season.

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Indiana went 16–0 playing in the toughest conference in the country. They had six wins over AP Top 10 teams and four wins over top-five teams. They won five games over teams that reached the college football playoff, including beating Oregon twice. None of those five wins came in a home game.

The Hoosiers won their games by an average of more than 29 points per game, and had wins over 10 teams that finished .500 or above. They led the nation with a turnover margin and forced five while surrendering zero in their three College Football Playoff wins.

This was as impressive a season as we have seen in the history of the sport, and there was plenty of evidence to prove how good Indiana was. Some people just refused to look beyond the jersey.

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