Before Indiana takes the field in Friday night’s College Football Playoff semifinal against Oregon, it is important to take a step back.
It is easy to forget because No. 1 is beside their name and a Heisman winner is under center — with Fernando Mendoza now projected to be the top pick in April’s NFL draft — but the Hoosiers’ position as national championship favorite ranks among the most surreal scenarios in the history of American sports.
Imagine if Rutgers were in the same spot, if Aaron Glenn’s Jets were planning a Super Bowl parade, if the Nets were on the verge of an NBA title.
Before 2024, Indiana — a program founded in the 1880s — never had won double-digit games in a season, having finished with a losing record in 26 of the previous 29 years. In 2023, the Hoosiers went 1-8 in the Big Ten, and their only other win over an FBS team came in a four-overtime home game against Akron.
