CLEVELAND, Ohio — Indiana just captured the most improbable national championship in college football history, but that isn’t enough for Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt to crown them as the team to beat next season.
In his way-too-early 2026 college football rankings, Klatt places the defending champion Hoosiers at No. 3, behind Oregon and Georgia.
“Indiana is going to be right back at the top of college football again. Okay?” Klatt explained. “And I couldn’t put them at one, largely because they don’t have their own returning starting quarterback,”
Klatt quickly recognized the irony in his reasoning.
“And I know that they didn’t have a returning starting quarterback this last year and they went on to win the national championship,” he acknowledged. “I get it.”
For a program coming off such a historic achievement, starting outside the top spot might seem disrespectful. But Klatt’s analysis reflects a deeper challenge facing the Hoosiers.
How will they replace the core talent that drove their championship run, particularly those who transferred from James Madison University with head coach Curt Cignetti?
“What’s going to be difficult for them is to replace some of those real core JMU transfer guys that have been there throughout this entirety of the run. The 27-2 over two years and now a national championship,” Klatt emphasized. “I’m talking about guys like D’Angelo Ponds… Aiden Fisher, the linebacker, Elijah Sarratt on the outside, Mikail Kamara. These these guys are going to be hard to replace.”
Yet despite these significant personnel challenges, Klatt remains bullish on Indiana’s prospects.
Much of his optimism stems from what he considers their most significant off-season victory: retaining their coaching staff.
“The biggest additions, if you want to say or the biggest… signings that Indiana had weren’t actually on the field,” Klatt said. “They were in the coaches box when they were able to retain Mike Shanahan the offensive coordinator, retain Bryant Haynes, the defensive coordinator. That continuity cannot go overlooked.”
This coaching continuity, Klatt argues, “is the reason that they won the national championship” and provides the foundation for their continued success despite roster turnover.
There are reasons for optimism on the personnel front as well. Klatt specifically mentions Josh Hoover, a transfer portal addition at quarterback who he believes will “fit Curt Cignetti and this offense perfectly.”
He also highlights Nick Marsh from Michigan State as “a perfect addition on the outside to pair with guys like Charlie Becker” and Joe Brunner from Wisconsin solidifying the offensive line.
Klatt’s final assessment reflects both respect for what Indiana has built and realistic concerns about the challenges of defending a title.
“I do trust that they can [replace departing players] because these are great coaches and this is a continuity of schematics that this staff has that not many other people have,” Klatt said. “They prioritize production over potential. We have to trust what they’ve got going on.”
For Indiana fans, the No. 3 ranking represents both tremendous respect for a program that wasn’t even considered a top-25 team at the beginning of last year, and a realistic challenge for a team facing significant roster turnover.
Coming off their magical championship run, the Hoosiers will enter next season with unprecedented expectations. And according to one of college football’s top analysts, they have the coaching foundation to meet them, even if they need to rebuild parts of their championship roster.