Can Indiana Become America's Team Again in 2026? A Narrow Path Exists

The Hoosiers are no longer the plucky underdog, so it would take a few extreme bounces to become the national darling.

Aug 31, 2017; Bloomington, IN, USA; A view of the American and Indiana flag at a Indiana Hoosiers tailgate prior to the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It's a title that Indiana won at some point during the 2025 season. No, not the big trophy at the end of the season after the whole "first 16-0 team since 1894 Yale" thing happened.

The other title. Like, "America's Team."

It's an unofficial title that is seemingly up for grabs during every college football season, and whether anybody wants to admit it or not, it's a pretty unique thing to obtain.

In addition to defying the historical hurdles as one of the least-successful programs in the sport, IU became the first new national champion since 1996 Florida, and did so with a brash, unapologetic coach who called his shot and delivered. That's something America rallies behind.

So can lightning strike twice and have Indiana become America's team?

In all likelihood, probably not. Once you win, especially in the noteworthy fashion that IU did, wherein the national championship game against Miami was the most-watched non-NFL sporting event since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, things change.

Cignetti did the impossible by repeating as AP Coach of the Year, but that was because the post-2024 sentiment nationally was that IU would fall back to earth with a more challenging schedule. The pre-2026 conversation is much different.

IU will likely be a preseason top-10 team with top-5 preseason national title odds. On top of that, it's a team that now boasts an even more expensive roster than last year, which will be led by a coach who is on Year 1 of an 8-figure contract. It'll be darn near impossible for IU to capture America's heart.

But dare I say, a narrow path still exists.

Let's remember a couple of things.

If you hate Cignetti, you're likely an Alabama fan, or you're a Georgia fan who doesn't like seeing people crown him over Kirby Smart as the nation's best coach.

It's possible that you're a fan of Michigan, Ohio State, or Purdue, all of whom got called out by Cignetti before he coached a game in Bloomington (back when you really did have to Google him).

You're likely not changing your opinion on him, even if he calls his shot again this year.

The only way for IU to become "America's Team" again is if it finds itself back in the underdog role. It would also help if the Hoosiers got their by some unfortunate luck and not just sleepy, championship-hangover play with inexplicable losses.

At this point, IU likely wouldn't follow that path unless it suffered an injury at quarterback. We don't wish for or predict injuries, so consider this completely hypothetical.

Overcoming a Josh Hoover injury en route to another deep run would — as sick as it sounds — turn IU into the underdog again

To be clear, not all of America would tip their cap to IU. Lord knows that Danny Kanell and the Florida State faithful would demand that the selection committee would completely take IU out of its rankings for such a development.

What those jaded 2023 FSU fans would conveniently ignore would be that making the 12-team field is different than the 4-team field, and this hypothetical would call for a more impressive showing from the backup quarterback than what the Seminoles got post-Jordan Travis injury (they still should've made the field).

If mid-20s backup Grant Wilson stepped in and suddenly elevated the IU offense in a 2014 Cardale Jones-like way, plenty of neutral folks would be captivated by that.

IU has been fortunate enough to not have to deal with a multi-game quarterback absence because Kurtis Rourke played through a torn ACL and Fernando Mendoza was made out of steel. Turning to Wilson would be a new challenge for this regime.

Of course, you'd also have the "he's too old to be playing college football" crowd chiming in. After all, Wilson is in Year 7 of college. He could become IU's Stetson Bennett IV. Then again, he's different than the former Georgia quarterback having already earned multiple degrees.

But you get it.

Wilson becoming a household name in the sport would be the ultimate sign that it's Cignetti's world and we're just living in it. Imagine watching him carve up a team like Ohio State, or if he went into the Big House and knocked Michigan out of the Big Ten Championship hunt to keep IU's repeat hopes alive, that would become the story of the season.

Alternatively, there's another more straightforward path that Hoover, Wilson or any other IU quarterback could get the American stamp of approval on if it takes shape.

"A national championship matchup with Texas Tech" would earn anyone "America's Team" status come January

While "America's Team" is seemingly up for grabs entering 2026 (Ole Miss has the best current case), "America's villain" is not. The Red Raiders have that locked in after the Brendan Sorsby mess.

There would be great irony in IU getting public support against the team that went to the ends of the earth to get eligibility for Sorsby, who began his gambling ways as a freshman in Bloomington.

Full circle? Not quite. We don't know what IU knew or didn't know. All we know is that one program tried to circumvent the rules in unprecedented fashion and had the college football masses irate over the initial two-game suspension.

Even though Sorsby won't be playing college football, the hay is in the barn with the public perception of the fightin' Cody Campbells.

But outside of that, it's hard to envision IU doing what it did in 2025. That is, have fans of teams like Purdue, Illinois and some non-contending SEC teams, pulling for the Hoosiers to become the last team standing. Even if a repeat season awaits, a repeat of the 2025 story is impossible.

A new arc is the only way that IU becomes America's darling once again. That might not be in the cards.

Then again, no title is off limits for Cignetti's Hoosiers.