Paul Finebaum doesn’t think Indiana has reached the point where its fans and graduates can carry themselves the way Ohio State or Alabama fans and graduates do.
Finebaum stopped short of calling the Hoosiers a one-and-done and reiterated that Curt Cignetti is the “best coach in college football”, but the ESPN talking head sees a pullback year on Indiana’s horizon. Why? As he explained Tuesday on First Take, he thinks Indiana will be challenged in a way they simply weren’t last season.
“Indiana plays nobody in the preseason (non-con), that’s a tradition unlike any other in Bloomington. Look what happens in late October,” Finebaum said. “You might say Nebraska is terrible, no they’re not. Matt Rhule has done a good job bringing that program back. They have Ohio State and then they go to Michigan. That, to me, is a 3-game gauntlet that they didn’t have to deal with last year. Then USC is going to be better…. and Washington is another really sneaky team, and going to Seattle in November is a challenge.”
“They have 4 or 5 games they didn’t really have to deal with last year.”
"Slow down a little bit. … You had your day, you'll have some fun, but you're not winning the National Championship this year." @finebaum sees NO chance in Indiana winning the National Championship pic.twitter.com/NfZqVdhXJ2
— First Take (@FirstTake) August 18, 2026RELATED: Interested in trying out the latest prediction markets? Check out our latest Fliff promo code today!
Indiana’s schedule is definitely frontloaded, as Finebaum points out. The Hoosiers start their season against North Texas, Howard and Western Kentucky before opening Big Ten play against Northwestern. Indiana finally plays a road game in Week 5 against Rutgers, then travels to Nebraska to face the Huskers ahead of matchups vs. Ohio State and at Michigan.
As Finebaum pointed out, that’s tough.
Finebaum said Tuesday that he still believes Indiana will still make the College Football Playoff, but his message remained firm: “I understand Indiana graduates all over the country are starting to sound like Ohio State graduates, Alabama graduates and Notre Dame graduates, but slow down a little bit IU… you had your day, you’ll have some fun, but you’re not winning the National Championship this year.”
Prediction Markets College Football Playoff champion? Learn more about Prediction Markets Kalshi Ohio St. 13% Notre Dame 13% Texas 12% Oregon 11% Indiana 9% Georgia 9% Miami (FL) 8% LSU 6% Texas Tech 4% Texas A&M 3% PredictPaul Finebaum makes case against Indiana winning back-to-back titles: ‘Slow down a little’ Saturday Down South.
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