Last season proved INDIANA belonged in the national conversation.

Now comes the challenge: proving it wasn't a one-year story.

The foundation is built. The expectations are higher. 

Let the season begin!

2026 Schedule

 "I love football. I'm a football guy. I don't have many other things that I do besides family, and in the summer go for a walk with my wife. I'm a film junkie, and I like putting a team together and we're going to have a lot of challenges [this] next season." - Curt Cignetti 

Non-Conference

Sept. 05 – North Texas

Sept. 12 – Howard

Sept. 19 – Western Kentucky

Conference

Sept.26 – Northwestern

Oct.  03 – @ Rutgers

Oct. 10 – @ Nebraska

Oct.17 – Ohio State

Oct. 24 – @ Michigan

Oct. 31 – Minnesota 

Nov. 07 –BYE

Nov. 14 – USC

Nov. 21- @ Washington

Nov. 28- Purdue

The Hoosiers will spend the entire month of September at Memorial Stadium as it looks to get back to the national title game. 

The Hoosiers' 2026 schedule also includes a tough midseason stretch featuring three of four games on the road. Before closing out the year with the Old Oaken Bucket game they will make a rare trip out to Seattle for a matchup against Washington. 

IU's big matchup against Ohio State at Memorial Stadium was previously announced as a Big Ten Championship Game rematch. 

This schedule will be daunting as they will have the defending National champion target on their back each contest.   

2025 In Review

 

The storybook season for Indiana's 2025 season had several firsts in program history. These include: 

First top 10 road win at Oregon in week seven

First ever No, 1 ranking (AP, Coaches, and CFP polls)

First Big Ten title in 58 years

First undefeated season in 80 years

First 16-0 college football team in FBS since Yale in 1894 - most wins in program history

First Hoosier QB to win the Heisman

First team in the 12-team playoff era to win a quarterfinal game after getting a bye through the first round. Such teams were 0-7 

The Rose Bowl win was IU's first bowl victory in seven tries since winning the 1991 Copper Bowl

First blocked punt touchdown in CFP history

First national championship

In two playoff games Mendoza threw eight touchdown passes against only five incompletions. He had more TDs than incompletions in five games for the season. The first player this century to do it more than twice in a campaign.  

Hoosier Coach Curt Cignetti became the first coach since the turn of the 20th century to win 27 games in his first two seasons at a school

In three playoff games, the Hoosiers did not trail for a single second

Statistical Highlights:

Overall Record: 16-0

Points Per Game: 41.6 (3rd nationally)

Their plus 479-point differential, only second best since 1936

Points Allowed Per Game: 11.7 (2nd nationally)

Individual Honors & Records:

Fernando Mendoza (QB): Became the first Hoosier to win the Heisman Trophy. He threw 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns, adding the decisive rushing touchdown in the National Championship game.

Curt Cignetti: Named Big Ten Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season and won the Dodd Trophy and the Bear Bryant College Football Coach of the Year. 

Nico Radicic (K): Set Big Ten records for extra points (76/76) and total points scored by a kicker (124) while winning Kicker of the Year.

All-Conference Honors: A program-record 17 players earned All-Big Ten honors (1st, 2nd, or 3rd team), led by Mendoza and unanimous All-American offensive lineman Carter Smith.

Image © USA Today Sports

Miami

 

Indiana completed one of the most stunning yet resounding championship runs in college football history.  

Fernando Mendoza bulldozed his way into the end zone and Indiana bullied its way into the history books Monday night, toppling Miami 27-21 to put the finishing touch on a rags-to-riches story, an undefeated season and the national title.

The Heisman Trophy winner finished with 186 yards passing, but it was his tackle-breaking, sprawled-out 12-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-4 with 9:18 left that defined this game — and the Hoosiers' season.

Indiana would not be denied.

Mendoza's TD gave turnaround artist Curt Cignetti’s team a 10-point lead — barely enough breathing room to hold off a frenzied charge by the hard-hitting Hurricanes, who bloodied Mendoza’s lip early, then came to life late behind 112 yards and two scores from Mark Fletcher but never took the lead.

The key play to the game: While the Hoosiers continued their offensive struggles, their special teams unit delivered a touchdown. Sixth-year senior defensive lineman Mikail Kamara blocked a punt that redshirt junior linebacker Isaiah Jones recovered in the endzone to put the Cream and Crimson up 17-7.

What started as a Cinderella story in 2024 morphed into the Big Bad Wolf in 2025 finishing for the first time 16-0 in the modern era.

Sources:

The Helmet Project: http://nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/index.htm

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1145292-power-ranking-all-124-college-football-stadiums

espn game recap 

Oregon

 

The 2025 College Football Semifinals would be played at the Orange Bowl at Mercedes- Benoz Stadium in Atlanta, GA The winner would advance to the championship game. The Hoosiers had defeated Oregon on the road in week seven on October 11 in Eugene. Winning twice against a top team would be definitely a challenge. 

Indiana's already impressive march through the College Football Playoff gained momentum as its dominant defense created three first-half touchdowns with turnovers, Fernando Mendoza threw five scoring passes, and the Hoosiers overwhelmed No. 5 Oregon 56-22 in the Peach Bowl semifinal.

Oregon was doomed by the three first-half turnovers while also being short-handed by the absence of two of their top running backs. The Hoosiers led 35-7 at halftime as the Ducks were held to nine rushing yards on 17 carries.

On Oregon's first snap, cornerback D'Angelo Ponds intercepted Moore's pass intended for Malik Benson and returned the pick 25 yards for a touchdown. Only 11 seconds into the game, the Hoosiers and their defense already had made a statement this would be a long night for Moore and the Oregon offense.

The game was a sellout, and the red-clad Indiana fans were almost as dominant as the Hoosiers on the field. Indiana appeared to claim at least 80% of the 75,604 fans. 

Sources:

The Helmet Project: http://nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/index.htm

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1145292-power-ranking-all-124-college-football-stadiums

espn game recap 

Alabama

 

The quarterfinals for the 2025 College Football Playoffs at the Rose Bowl would pit #9 Alabama v #1 Indiana for a 4 pm eastern time kickoff on New Year's Day. It had been fifty-eight years since the Hoosiers has played on New Year's Day in the Granddaddy of them all. 

After an initial three-and-out, the Hoosiers scored on six of their next seven possessions, and they didn't allow the Crimson Tide to score until late in the third quarter.

Fernando Mendoza was sacked on two of IU's first three plays, but the Hoosiers established their efficiency game - lots of power running, lots of quick passing - in a nearly nine-minute field goal drive. The Hoosiers' defense then stuffed a fourth-and-1 attempt, Mendoza completed a 21-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Becker, and IU was off and running. Mendoza hit Omar Cooper Jr. for another score right before halftime, then found Elijah Sarratt at the end of another long drive in the third quarter. And after Bama's lone field goal, Kaelon Black and Roman Hemby broke into the open for touchdown runs. Black and Hemby combined for 188 rushing yards.

Final scored Indiana 38 - Alabama 3

Sources:

The Helmet Project: http://nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/index.htm

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1145292-power-ranking-all-124-college-football-stadiums

espn game recap 

Fernando Mendoza 2025 Heizman Trophy winner

After leading Indiana’s perfect season, Fernando Mendoza awarded 2025 Heisman Trophy

 I’m at a loss of words. Thank you to everybody. First, I want to thank God for giving me the opportunity to chase a dream that once felt a world away,” Mendoza said while next to the trophy. “Standing here tonight and holding this bad boy, representing Indiana University, still doesn’t feel real.”

Mendoza’s football resume was stacked with notable accomplishments. He led the Hoosiers to a perfect 13-0 record, to the university’s first Big Ten football title since 1967 and helped book the No. 1 seed in the upcoming College Football Playoff. He was also named the Associated Press player of the year and won the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s top quarterback.

“If you told me, as a kid in Miami, that I would be here on stage, holding this prestigious trophy, I probably would have laughed, cried like I’m doing now, or both,” Mendoza said. “Because this moment, it’s an honor, it’s bigger than me. It’s a product of a family, a team, community and a whole lot of people who believed in me long before anybody knew my name.”

It was almost exactly a year ago to the day when Mendoza traded his Northern California digs for the Midwest sprawl of Indiana.

And on Saturday, the move paid off with the 22-year-old winning the 91st edition of the Heisman Trophy at New York City’s Lincoln Center.

The junior quarterback threw for 2,980 yards and 33 touchdowns while adding six more scores on the ground this season.

Mendoza gave credit to the school and his teammates for the honor.

“Congrats to all my teammates. My brothers. This is our trophy. I love you guys more than you know,”

“This trophy might have my name on it but it belongs to all of you. It belongs … first time in Bloomington. Playing in front of Hoosier nation is one of the greatest privileges of my life. And I’ll carry that forever.”

With his family looking upon, Mendoza thanked his parents, especially his mother.

“I was only a two-star prospect, only had one scholarship offer. But my family’s unconditional love and belief kept me going and pushing me forward. These are the people who built me long before football did,” Mendoza said.

“Mommy, this is your trophy as much as it is mine,” he said as the ESPN broadcast showed Elsa Mendoza proudly listening to her son on stage, holding back her tears.

“You’ve always been my biggest fan. You’re my light. You’re my why. You’re my biggest supporter. Your sacrifices encouraged love. Those have been my playbook and the playbook I’m going to carry through my side for my entire life.”

A Cuban American whose grandparents immigrated from Cuba, Mendoza gave a special shout-out in Spanish to Alberto and Alicia Espinoza, who were also in attendance.

After spending his first two seasons as the University of California, Berkeley Golden Bears QB, Mendoza entered the transfer portal and eventually committed to play for Cignetti and Indiana University in late December 2024.

What came next was a historic season in which the city of Bloomington, an illustrious college basketball town, caught “HeisMendoza” fever.

“It’s definitely a great honor to be in that (Heisman) conversation, especially with so many great former players and so many great players that are in that conversation right now.

“I honestly always believed in myself and believed in my team. And so I really just try to keep it one game at a time, one practice at a time, in order to then have a small scope in order to get my large goals.”

Mendoza finished with 643 first-place votes.

Source:  Jacob Lev, CNN 

2026 College Football Playoff

 

For the second year in a row Indiana punched its ticket for the national college football playoff this year as the #1 seed. After winning the Big Ten Conference championship over Ohio State the Hoosiers closed out the season as the undisputed Big Ten Champion finishing first in the national poll for first time in program history. 

The Hoosiers will play the winners of #8 Oklahoma vs #9 Alabama in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA for the quarterfinals. 

 It's been a fifty-eight-year drought since the Hoosiers have played in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. 

Bracket image copyright AP news 

Big Ten Championship

 

12-0 Ohio State ranked #1 in the country would face off against the 12-0 Indiana Hoosiers ranked #2 for the outright Big Ten Title at Lucus Oil Stadium. The winner would almost certainly earn the No. 1 seed in the College Football Championship with seedings to be announced the next day. 

This would be only the third time with a #1 v #2 national matchup in Big Ten History. 

1985 would pit #1 Iowa v #2 Michigan 

2006 would pit #1 Ohio State v #2 Michigan

The Hoosiers would enter the contest a seven-point underdog. 

Fernando Mendoza made all the big plays. Then his Hoosiers teammates and their fans celebrated like it was 1967and 1945.

Mendoza’s neatly tucked 17-yard pass to Elijah Sarratt gave the No. 2 Hoosiers the lead they needed and the defense shut down No. 1 Ohio State the rest of the way in a 13-10 win for their first Big Ten title in nearly half a century while likely locking up the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.

 Mendoza was injured on the first offensive play of the game but returned after missing one play and went 15 of 23 for 222 yards and the one TD and one interception. Sayin had his ankle retaped in the second quarter and was 21 of 29 for 258 yards, one TD and one interception.

Indiana took a 3-0 lead after Sayin was picked off in the first quarter, but the Buckeyes turned Mendoza’s miscue into a 17-yard TD pass to Carnell Tate for a 7-3 lead late in the quarter.

The teams traded field goals in the second quarter as the Buckeyes took a 10-6 lead, but Mendoza neatly tucked a TD pass into Sarratt near the sideline on Indiana’s first possession of the third quarter and that was all they needed.

The Hoosiers showed everyone why they’re no longer taking a backseat to the Buckeyes or anyone else in college football. Defensively, they were as stingy as ever. Offensively, they moved the ball and played keep away — and did just enough for an historic victory.

Sources:

The Helmet Project found here: http://nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/index.htm

Photo © The B1G Network http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1145292-power-ranking-all-124-college-football-stadiums

Game summary © ESPN

IU @ Purdue

Kaelon Black had two touchdown runs and Fernando Mendoza and Roman Hemby each ran for scores as No. 2 Indiana beat rival Purdue 56-3 on Friday night, completing the first perfect regular season in school history and securing a Big Ten championship game berth.

The Hoosiers (12-0, 9-0, No. 2 CFP) also likely locked up a second straight College Football Playoff berth.

 Curt Cignetti became the first Hoosiers coach since Bo McMillin in 1934-35 to win his first two matchups against Purdue.

Purdue (2-10, 0-9) endured more misery in the coldest game ever played at Ross-Ade Stadium, with a kickoff temperature of 24 degrees Fahrenheit. The Boilermakers closed coach Barry Odom's first season with a 10th straight loss and posted their second straight winless season in conference play, the first since 1919-20.

Many wondered if the Hoosiers would be one-hit wonders after last year's historic season. But Cignetti promised there would be no decline in 2025 — and there wasn't. With the nation's second-best scoring offense and scoring defense, a Heisman Trophy front-runner and a perfect record, the Hoosiers are better positioned to make a playoff run than they were last year.

Sources:

The Helmet Project found here:

http://nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/index.htm

Photo © The B1G Network

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1145292-power-ranking-all-124-college-football-stadiums

espn game recap 

2025 Bucket Game

The 2025 Bucket Game
The #127 meeting
Indiana and Purdue
The Battle for the Old Oaken Bucket
For the #100 time!
Bring It!

Yet another record

 

Indiana now owns the longest home winning streak in major college football. The Hoosiers have won fifteen home games in a row, the best in the nation.

Photos copyright Indiana University Athletics 

Wisconsin

 

This would be the last home stand for a few seniors who had made the jump to follow coach Curt Cinetti. Slightly and rarely recruited Cignetti saw their potential in himself and with them. Coming from James Madison Coach Cig brought a nucleus of players with him to Indiana with the mindset that that production beats probability.

The Hoosiers would improve to a program first 11-0 with a 31-7 victory over Wisconsin. For the game Fernando Mendoza would finish with 299 total yards completing 22 of 24 passes. His fourth touchdown pass would place him in first place with 30 touchdown passes in a single season surpassing Kurtis Rourke’s 29 in 2024.

The defense would hand the offensive the ball in excellent field position. A forced fumble by Stephen Daley, recovered by Hosea Wheeler at the Wisconsin 21-yard line, set up the Hoosiers next score. This turnover led to a 21-yard TD pass from Mendoza to Riley Nowakowski, a Wisconsin transfer, extending the Hoosier's lead.  For the season 96 points would be scored off turnovers. 

Sources:
The Helmet Project found here:
http://nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/index.htm
Photo © The B1G Network
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1145292-power-ranking-all-124-college-football-stadiums
Game summary © ESPN 

@ Penn State

 

The Hoosiers would take on the Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium at University Park PA with a noon ET kickoff.

The Nittany Lions, who in the pre-season were ranked #2 in the country and were considered legitimate contenders for a national championship, found themselves 3-5 for the season and 0-5 in B1G play. Three games into the Big Ten season Penn State had parted ways with coach James Franklin as backers had grown impatient with his overall Big Ten performance. Franklin’s $49 million buyout would be the second largest in college football history, only behind Jimbo Fisher’s $76 million Texas A & M payout.  

The Hoosiers would enter the contest having never won at Bever Stadium in Happy Valley.

There had been close calls, but usually it had been a house of horrors. 

It all came down to a third and goal at the Penn State 7-yard line with 0:36 remaining in the game. Omar Cooper Jr. jumped to catch a pass from Fernando Mendoza in the back of the end zone, sweeping his inside foot within inches of the field of play to go ahead 27-24 to save the No 2 Hoosiers from their first loss of the season.  

“It was the most improbable victory I have ever been a part of,” Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said. “And there have been a better place to make it happen.”

The Hoosiers improved to 10-0 for the season and remained ranked #2 in the country. 

Sources:

The Helmet Project found here:

http://nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/index.htm

Photo © The B1G Network and ESPN

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1145292-power-ranking-all-124-college-football-stadiums

Game summary © ESPN 

@ Maryland

 

Fernando Mendoza threw for a touchdown and ran for one, and No. 2 Indiana remained undefeated with a 55-10 rout of Maryland.

Mendoza recovered from an early interception, and he also had to play most of the game without his top target. Star receiver Elijah Sarratt left in the first quarter with hamstring tightness, ending his nation-leading streak of 46 consecutive games with a catch.

Still, this was another one-sided game for the Hoosiers (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten), who since winning at Oregon have added victories over Michigan State, UCLA and Maryland by a combined 120 points.

Indiana outrushed Maryland 367-37.

Roman Hemby, who transferred from Maryland to Indiana, ran for 88 yards on 18 carries against his old team. Black rushed for 110 yards and Martin added 80.

Sources:
The Helmet Project found here:
http://nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/index.htm
Photo © The B1G Network
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1145292-power-ranking-all-124-college-football-stadiums
Game summary © ESPN 

UCLA

 

On the second play of the game Aiden Fisher intercepted the first pass of the game and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown and the Mendoza brothers — Fernando and Alberto — each ran for scores as No. 2 Indiana routed UCLA 56-6.

The Hoosiers extended their school-record home winning streak to 14, protected the highest ranking in school history for the second straight week and now open a second straight November with a perfect record.

Fernando Mendoza was 15 of 22 for 168 yards, three TDs and one interception before leaving late in the third quarter as he was serenaded again with chants of “Heismendoza" from the student section. Roman Hemby finished with 17 carries, 81 yards and two scores while Kaelon Black rushed 10 times for 70 yards. E.J. Williams Jr. had five catches for 109 yards and two scores as Indiana outgained UCLA 475-201 in total yards.

After Fisher's interception 57 seconds into the game, the Hoosiers pulled away on Hemby's 1-yard TD run late in the first quarter and a second-quarter flurry that began with Elijah Sarratt's 1-yard TD catch, continued with Hemby's 13-yard run and ended with Williams' 2-yard TD catch to make it 35-3.

Indiana sealed it with Fernando Mendoza's nifty 20-yard scoring run, Williams' 62-yard catch and Alberto Mendoza's 4-yard run early in the fourth.

Sources:

The Helmet Project found here:

http://nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/index.htm

Photo © The B1G Network

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1145292-power-ranking-all-124-college-football-stadiums

Game summary © ESPN 

Michigan State

 

Another rivalry between the Hoosiers and the Spartans dating back to 1950.

The day prior Curt Cignetti signed an extension to his contract for $11.2 million making him the third highest paid coach in the country. What precipitated the move was the firing of Penn State coach James Franklin who was fired after going 0-3 in the Big Ten. The extension would keep Cignetti in Bloomington for the foreseeable future.

The Hoosiers would climb to #3 nationally, the highest placement in program history and would walk away with a 38-13 Homecoming victory to reach 7-0 for the season.

Fernando Mendoza would pass for 24/28 and four touchdowns while Kealon Black would rush for 64 yards on ten carries and a score.  

Sources:

The Helmet Project found here:

http://nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/index.htm

Photo © The B1G Network

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1145292-power-ranking-all-124-college-football-stadiums

Game summary © ESPN