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In only year two in Bloomington, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti has the Hoosiers looking like a national championship contender.
The No. 2 Hoosiers advanced to 8-0 on the 2025 season with a 56-6 stomping over UCLA, with Heisman favorite Fernando Mendoza throwing for three touchdowns and running for another. A few weeks ago, Indiana picked up one of the biggest wins in the country when it beat No. 3 Oregon at Autzen Stadium. Cignetti has turned a program that was perennially at the bottom of the Big Ten to one of the best teams in America.
Cignetti and Co. stayed undefeated with Saturday's victory, and looking at the schedule, the Hoosiers will be favored in all of their regular season games. If Indiana runs the table, it would be the first time the Hoosiers have made the Big Ten Championship game, and would cement them as a top seed in the College Football Playoff.
Let's look at the rest of Indiana's schedule and the road to 12-0.
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Indiana 2025 schedule and results
Indiana has two wins over top-10 teams and does not face another team currently ranked in the AP Top 25.
| Date | Opponent | Time/Result (ET) |
| 08/30 | vs. Old Dominion | W 27-14 |
| 09/06 | vs. Kennesaw State | W 56-9 |
| 09/12 | vs. Indiana State | W 73-0 |
| 09/20 | vs. No. 9 Illinois | W 63-10 |
| 09/27 | at Iowa | W 20-15 |
| 10/11 | at No. 3 Oregon | W 30-20 |
| 10/18 | vs. Michigan State | W 38-13 |
| 10/25 | vs. UCLA | W 56-6 |
| 11/01 | at Maryland | 3:30 PM |
| 11/08 | at Penn State | TBD |
| 11/15 | vs. Wisconsin | TBD |
| 11/28 | at Purdue | 7:30 PM |
| 12/06 | Big Ten Championship | 8:00 PM (If Qualified) |
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Indiana football strength of schedule and playoff odds
The hard part of the Hoosiers schedule is behind them.
Indiana faced two opponents ranked in the top 10 earlier in the season, defeating both; the Hoosiers had one of the most impressive wins in the country over No. 3 Oregon at Autzen Stadium, where the Ducks hold a 40-2 record since 2018. Before that, Indiana stomped No. 9 Illinois in Bloomington, tallying 579 yards of total offense.
Looking at the road ahead, the Hoosiers will be favored in all of their games. They do not play an opponent ranked in the top 25, with the hardest game against a spiraling Penn State in Happy Valley. If the Hoosiers win out, they will make the Big Ten Championship and the College Football Playoff, even if they lose in Indianapolis.
According to FanDuel Sports Book, Indiana is -800 to make the College Football Playoff quarterfinals. They are currently the third favorite to win the National Championship in January at +750.
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Curt Cignetti Indiana record
Cignetti has engineered a seismic transformation of the Indiana football program, building an overall record of 19-2 since taking the job ahead of the 2024 season. After years of struggling for relevance in the Big Ten, Cignetti immediately delivered the best single season in Indiana history in his debut year (2024), guiding the Hoosiers to an 11-2 record, which included the first 10-0 start in program history, a program-best eight Big Ten wins, and their first-ever berth in the College Football Playoff as the No. 10 seed.
The Hoosiers have followed up that performance by maintaining their dominance in the 2025 season, currently sitting at a 8-0 record midway through the 2025 season and reaching a program-best No. 2 national ranking in the AP Poll. Indiana is one of the most balanced teams in the country, currently ranking in the top-four nationally in both scoring offense and scoring defense. Their 19 wins over the 2024 and 2025 seasons already represent the most victories in any two-year span in school history.
The foundation of this success is built on two monumental victories against highly-ranked opponents. The biggest win in program history came on October 11, when the Hoosiers defeated No. 3 Oregon on the road, just IU's second road win over a top 5 team in 74 tries. Earlier in the season, Indiana made a statement by steamrolling No. 9 Illinois 63-10 in a performance Cignetti called one of the most dominant victories in school history.
These wins, coupled with a current 13-game home winning streak, have solidified Cignetti's reputation as one of the best coaches in the nation and have moved Indiana from a perennial bottom-dweller to a legitimate national championship contender.
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