Opposing Big Ten coaches share doubts about Indiana football ahead of 2026 season

For as long as Curt Cignetti has been the head coach of Indiana football, he’s been talking about “changing the way people think.” When he arrived in Bloomington, that largely meant getting the university and community invested in football, but as the Hoosiers began winning games, it also meant getting the college football world to respect Indiana as a serious program on the national level.

And yet, an 11-2 season in year one of the Cignetti era still didn’t change the national perception of IU football all that much. It was viewed as a program potentially on the rise, but not necessarily one of the best in the country. 

Of course, the Hoosiers did become the best in the nation with a 16-0 championship season, which should have silenced any doubt in Cignetti or IU football on the national level. It largely did, as the Hoosiers were heralded as a historic “worst to first” story, but there are still some doubts that Indiana can continue its national success.

And a few of those doubts came from opposing coaches in the Big Ten.

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In an Athlon Sports report that included thoughts on each B1G football program, anonymous coaches shared their thoughts about the rest of the conference. No names were attached to the feedback, but it provided interesting context about how the Hoosiers are perceived by their conference foes.

One coach said “I’m definitely not gonna underestimate Indiana again,” but also very much did underestimate the Hoosiers.

The same coach said “They’re gonna lose that rush of James Madison guys that they had the last two years, so they could definitely struggle in some areas of continuity,” doubting whether IU can repeat its success without the core established from those who came to Indiana from JMU.

Not that this point is incorrect – IU will definitely need to replace leadership from departing players – but last year’s national title-winning team also experienced significant losses on both sides of the football.

With Aiden Fisher, D’Angelo Ponds and Elijah Sarratt all leaving, there’s certainly a void left behind, but has Cignetti’s track record in the portal not proven that he can reload and avoid the “continuity issues” that this coach brought up?

These were the concerns most prevalently mentioned by opposing coaches, with another one saying “The biggest glaring thing is the production they lost in the receiver room.” IU did lose its three Week 1 starting receivers, but there’s an argument to be made that it’s 2026 Week 1 starters may be even better. 

That’s a tall order, but Charlie Becker, Nick Marsh and Tyler Morris could certainly live up to it. The same coach said “they paid a s— ton for Nick Marsh, so we’ll see how he does” and added “They’re just gonna be very young there,” still talking about the receiver room.

Marsh was always going to cost a pretty penny, so I’m not sure why bringing that up is relevant in deciding whether IU will be able to keep up with receiver production, but the experience anecdote isn’t all that correct.

Marsh has two seasons of Big Ten starting experience, while Morris has three years of Big Ten experience at Michigan, with 15 total starts and a national championship in 2023. Becker is the most inexperienced out of the group, but still started eight games in Indiana’s national title season with some incredibly major plays in the postseason.

These three don’t have quite the experience as last year’s receiving corps, but they’re not “very young” like the anonymous coach suggested, and could very well be one of IU’s strengths on a team poised to go back-to-back.

Another area where an opposing coach brought up departing production was, unsurprisingly, at quarterback. “To me, it’s hard to replicate what (Fernando) Mendoza did. (TCU transfer quarterback) Josh Hoover is a good player. I think he’s got some turnover issues. But other than that, they reloaded.”

It’s obvious that it’s going to be difficult to replicate a Heisman Trophy season, but that’s a separate discussion from Hoover’s “turnover issues,” something Cignetti quickly dispelled after the transfer quarterback arrived in Bloomington.

Hoover had a better quarterback rating than Mendoza in their respective seasons before joining IU, while totaling more yards and touchdowns as well. His interruptions were high, sure, but with immense RPO experience and Indiana’s track record of improving quarterbacks, Hoover is the perfect fit for 2026.

This coach also said “Defensively, they still return most of their production” and qualified his quarterback opinion with “other than that, they reloaded.” as he wasn’t too harsh on the Hoosiers. But the level of doubt is certainly still there about Indiana following a national championship.

Words like these could provide more of a chip on Indiana’s shoulder heading into the 2026 season, or the Hoosiers might not care in the slightest. Now that IU and the Bloomington community are all in on football, does Cignetti truly care what his Big Ten foes think of him?

Maybe not, but what’s clear is that there are some coaches from around the Big Ten that believe there are holes in Indiana’s roster in year three of Cignetti’s tenure, largely surrounding a lack of belief in Indiana’s ability to get production in areas with departing talent.

That’s been the question lingering all offseason, and now that opposing coaches have voiced their opinion, it’s up to the Hoosiers to prove them wrong this fall.

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