In Shocking College Football World, Indiana Silences National Critics

Indiana football fans have heard it for just about as long as they've been around.

"How long until basketball season starts?"

"Thank goodness for the banners in Assembly Hall because there will never be any next door!"

And so on and so forth.

But not anymore. No longer is Indiana just a basketball school, as head coach Curt Cignetti and his staff took just two seasons to complete the greatest turnaround in the history of college football.

And for whatever reason, Indiana doing so seemed to rub a few of those that have been covering the great sport of college football for decades, the wrong way.

Paul Finebaum and Josh Pate Apologize to Indiana and Curt Cignetti

Both big-time college football talkers Paul Finebaum and Josh Pate took time on their shows after the national championship to essentially eat crow for their Indiana takes from different points this season.

First, we'll start with Finebaum:

A mea culpa with a side of crow about the Hoosiers this season... pic.twitter.com/MCC58o4vbf
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) January 21, 2026

Anytime someone reads an apology it instantly feels 0% sincere. This gives the feel of a politician performing an already typed out statement or speech and making the news about himself instead of being about Indiana.

Anyway, aside from sounding like an AI bot while reading it, great job...I guess.

But let's move on. Next up is Josh Pate.

Indiana has never had it so good

I’ve never had it so bad pic.twitter.com/TCJPo3fejN
— Josh Pate (@JoshPateCFB) January 21, 2026

I know these guys have jobs and I know where they're both originally from and I know who signs at least part of their checks (ESPN), but at what point does common sense take over, instead of forcing an SEC or company line down our throats?

I don't think any Indiana fan would really be that upset by the fact somebody picked Oregon in Eugene or Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship game.

However, how do you get away with getting called an expert or analyst of any kind when you pick Alabama to beat Indiana in the Rose Bowl?

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Takeaway:

There is an argument to be made that Alabama, not Tulane or James Madison, is the least deserving College Football Playoff team in the two years it has been played with 12 teams. The team had three losses in the regular season, two of them being drubbings by Florida State and Georgia.

Yet, to think it was going to beat Indiana, after what Indiana had just done to Ohio State it's last time out? I'm convinced that Pate as well as the crew on College GameDay didn't actually believe any of that for a second, but were instead being friendly partners to their SEC friends.

Instead of saying "I was a fool for picking Team X", say, "I only picked Team X because their coach came on my show and Curt Cignetti did not."

Regardless, it's only l