In College Football’s 12-Team Playoff Era, Indiana’s Magical Season Gives Hope to All

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One short year ago, at almost this exact moment, the Indiana football team was 2-6, having lost four consecutive football games. The head coach at the time, Tom Allen, was trying to hang on, hoping to keep his job. Ultimately, he did not.

The long slog for a broken football program was beginning its excruciating end. Basketball season was in its infancy. A team that needed four overtimes to beat Akron earlier in the year—one of its three wins in 2023—was nowhere close to being competitive.

On Saturday, Indiana moved to 8-0. To celebrate the occasion, ESPN sent the College GameDay caravan to Bloomington to highlight one of the best stories in the sport.

A hungry fan base showed out as expected. Then the football team did the same.

The Hoosiers responded by delivering a 31-17 win over Washington with the team’s star player, quarterback Kurtis Rourke, standing on the sideline due to injury.

From 2-6 to 8-0, all in 365 days.

Forget about a neat little football story. We’re well past that.

Indiana has proven itself to be a threat to win the Big Ten. And at a time when the playoff is expanding, a decision that was controversial to many, the Hoosiers are showing why this new postseason will add an element of excitement and intrigue the sport has never seen.

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We’ll get to that. First, here’s how we arrived at this moment.

Curt Cignetti was hired shortly after Allen was fired, and the addition has been nothing short of extortionary.

Before Indiana, Cignetti led James Madison for five seasons. In that time, JMU finished 52-9. Before that, with a few stops in between, Cignetti was one of the key assistants at Alabama who helped Nick Saban start his dynasty.

He recruited wideout Julio Jones. He coached running back Mark Ingram. He learned under the greatest to ever grace a sideline. In short, Cignetti found his rhythm, first as an assistant, before landing his first marquee job.

Since doing so, his football team has yet to lose.

With full access to the transfer portal, Cignetti landed his new QB along with other key pieces to rebuild a roster that needed to be rebuilt. Now, as November settles in, his team is looking like a threat to make the College Football Playoff.

If that sounds weird, it should. Indiana has won eight games one time since 1993. The last time this team won nine games, you ask? That was 1967.

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In all likelihood, the Hoosiers will win nine games this year. Indiana will finish at Michigan State, home versus Michigan, at Ohio State and home against Purdue to finish the year.

Forget about nine wins; Indiana is playing for a conference championship or something more. With a suddenly manageable path, the Hoosiers are the right team at the right time in college football.

In less than two weeks, the first College Football Playoff rankings will be revealed. If Indiana beats the Spartans next week, it could find itself near the top 10 in these first rankings.

The fact that this is reality is a testament to Cignetti and the job he has done. It’s also a perfect example of why a 12-team postseason won’t make the regular season any less important.

When the expanded playoff was announced, this was natural sentiment. And for the truly elite teams, there’s some truth to it.

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Programs like Georgia, Alabama, Texas and Ohio State will unquestionably benefit from this expanded format. Losing one game used to be a deathblow to these chances. Now, a team with three losses could realistically find its way in.

Viewing the postseason exclusively through the eyes of the elite, however, is a shortsighted way of evaluating a postseason or access as a whole. In expanding the playoff, college football has vastly expanded its audience.

In expanding access, the sport has found a way to engage dozens of fan bases that otherwise wouldn’t realistically have a chance to crash a party it wouldn’t normally be invited to.

Indiana, at one of its finest hours, is the kind of team the 12-team playoff was built for. No matter the size, the Georgias of the world will always be knocking at the door.

In this new era, all bets are off.

In a perfect year, Indiana has a shot. So does a team like Pittsburgh, which has yet to lose a football game this year. Or BYU. Or Army.

The list of engaged teams and fan bases is longer than it has ever been, although no fan base is more engaged than the one in Bloomington. Even without the team’s starting QB, who will hopefully find his way back to the field soon, Indiana is in it.

At a time when no football team has looked elite, Indiana has looked the part of a contender. And for the first time ever, the team has a legitimate shot to compete with one.

Regardless of how this story ends, the table has been set. Others will soon follow.

Forget about just being America’s team and perhaps the best story in college football. Indiana, in the midst of one of the greatest seasons it has ever known, is showing the rest of college football—the countless teams and fan bases that have waited decades for moments like these—what is possible.