Indiana debuted at No. 4 in the first College Football Rankings of the 2026 season released on Tuesday evening via ESPN, putting them in position to earn a first round bye with more wins down the stretch.
It's the Hoosiers' fourth season in program history with a rankings appearance, with the first coming back in 2020. Indiana has appeared in every set of playoff rankings dating back to the first set released during the 2024 season, climbing all the way up to the No. 1 spot in 2025's final set of rankings on the way to winning its first national championship that same season.
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With this ranking, Indiana has never appeared lower than No. 10 in any set of playoff rankings under Curt Cignetti dating back to the program's initial appearance in 2024. Indiana has been ranked in the top-5 of every set of rankings dating back to the first set released in 2025.
There's definitely room for Indiana to climb, but that's going to involve winning out in totality rather than earning a big win down the stretch. The most impressive opponent remaining on the Hoosiers' schedule is USC, which sits at No. 20. Indiana owns a loss to Ohio State, which sits at No. 12 with losses to USC and No. 7 Texas.
Indiana probably won't move too much from this week to next given the Hoosiers are on a much-needed bye after playing nine consecutive games to open the season. The Hoosiers sit with the sixth best odds to win the national championship at +1000, per FanDuel Sportsbook
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