{"id":28464,"date":"2025-07-22T10:58:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T10:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/28464\/"},"modified":"2025-07-22T10:58:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T10:58:09","slug":"an-absurd-quest-to-find-who-can-mimic-indianas-unlikely-college-football-playoff-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/28464\/","title":{"rendered":"An absurd quest to find who can mimic Indiana’s unlikely College Football Playoff run"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before we can attempt to predict the next Indiana<\/a>, we must first appreciate the absurdity, the utter improbability, of the 2024 Hoosiers making the College Football Playoff<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Indiana<\/a> won three games the previous season and lost to some of the Big Ten\u2019s worst teams. The Hoosiers, who were in their first year with coach Curt Cignetti, had only achieved nine victories twice in its history. Never before had they won 10. Oddsmakers set their over\/under at 5\u00bd victories, and the media picked them to finish 17th in the 18-team Big Ten.<\/p>\n

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The Indianapolis Star took \u201ca pretty big leap\u201d while predicting an 8-4 regular season for the Hoosiers. Another Big Ten newspaper of record, the Omaha World-Herald, surmised a \u201cbowl bid is not out of the question,\u201d while projecting 6-6.<\/p>\n

Indiana\u2019s accommodating schedule aided its thrill ride, but even knowing that schedule, who foresaw the Hoosiers smashing Nebraska, handling a Michigan team that later beat Alabama, and securing playoff viability at 11-1?<\/p>\n

So, when trying to pinpoint the next Indiana, it becomes an injustice to the 2024 Hoosiers to include any preseason Top 25 team.<\/p>\n

\"Illinois<\/p>\n

Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer (9) drops back to throw against Penn State during their game at Beaver Stadium.<\/p>\n

How to find next Indiana for College Football Playoff<\/p>\n

Illinois<\/a> attracts comparisons to the 2024 Hoosiers, as basketball-leaning Big Ten schools without a history of football greatness. But, Illinois returns most of its starters from a 10-win team. Expectations are too great and too reasonable to earmark the Illini as the next Indiana.<\/p>\n

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Like Illinois, Texas Tech could pursue the program\u2019s first playoff appearance, but the Red Raiders don\u2019t emulate 2024 Indiana. The Hoosiers assembled their playoff squad from the transfer portal\u2019s bargain rack. Texas Tech launched an expensive player-buying campaign fueled by billionaire booster Cody Campbell<\/a>. Hardly comparable.<\/p>\n

After putting aside playoff hopefuls like Illinois and Texas Tech, what’s left? Teams like UCLA, California<\/a> and West Virginia are ultimate longshots, built from the portal’s fires.<\/p>\n

Hear me, I\u2019m not suggesting those teams as likely playoff contenders, but, that\u2019s sort of the point, isn\u2019t it? The ultimate dark horse, Indiana stunningly crafted a warp-speed turnabout with the help of 31 transfers, a cocksure coach in Cignetti, and a favorable schedule, of which they took full advantage.<\/p>\n

UCLA, Cal and West Virginia each brought in more than 30 transfers apiece. Each has an over\/under of 5\u00bd victories. That’s Indiana territory.<\/p>\n

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The Bruins<\/a> made one of the offseason’s biggest acquisitions by plundering a quarterback, Nico Iamaleava, who\u2019s a former five-star recruit. He started a playoff game last season for Tennessee.<\/p>\n

UCLA, fresh off a 5-7 finish in its Big Ten debut, will endure a schedule that includes Big Ten front-runners Ohio State and Penn State, plus a non-conference tilt against Utah. Iamaleava’s arrival provides hope for improvement, but it’s hard to see that schedule as a recipe toward being the next Indiana.<\/p>\n

What, then, about California? The Bears<\/a> nabbed former Ohio State backup Devin Brown as a transfer quarterback. Cal, which hasn\u2019t won more than eight games since 2008, will avoid Clemson and Miami, two ACC favorites. The schedule, though, includes six road games and a matchup with SMU, a playoff qualifier from last year. That\u2019s enough to prevent Cal from becoming the next Indiana.<\/p>\n

West Virginia overhauled its roster with 52 transfers after hiring Rich Rodriguez for a homecoming. It would be more appropriate to view the Mountaineers, though, through the lens of 2024 Arizona State. The Sun Devils won the Big 12 championship after the media picked them to finish last in the conference. In the unpredictable Big 12, any number of teams could ascend and claim the auto-bid entry to the playoff.<\/p>\n

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Missouri profiles as a playoff sleeper, after the media picked it to finish 12th in the SEC. The Tigers secured a fine collection of portal prizes, including former Penn State backup quarterback Beau Pribula. Missouri’s accommodating schedule positions it to exceed its Vegas over\/under of 7\u00bd wins. But, the Tigers won 21 games the past two seasons. They\u2019ve been too good recently to aptly compare to Indiana.<\/p>\n

POWER RANKINGS: Where the Big Ten teams stack from first to worst<\/a><\/p>\n

DEAD PLAN: SEC suffocates the Big Ten’s plan to rig playoff<\/a><\/p>\n

Would next Indiana come from Big Ten?<\/p>\n

As I search for the next Indiana, I circle back to the Big Ten. The conference is so big that teams only play half the membership, and there\u2019s no requirement to play a Power Four non-conference opponent. That\u2019s a breeding ground for a fortunate schedule draw.<\/p>\n

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Consider Maryland. The Terrapins<\/a> won\u2019t play a non-conference Power Four foe, and they avoid Ohio State, Penn State and Oregon. Expectations remain low. Vegas sets the over\/under at 4\u00bd wins. Maryland likely will start several transfers after finishing 4-8 last season, and four-star freshman Malik Washington projects as the starting quarterback.<\/p>\n

Maryland cashing in on a favorable schedule to the extent it could make the playoff sounds highly improbable. When trying to unearth an Indiana sequel, that\u2019s the assignment. If the idea doesn\u2019t sound absurd, then that team doesn\u2019t count as the next Indiana.<\/p>\n

Blake Toppmeyer<\/a>\u00a0is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at\u00a0BToppmeyer@gannett.com<\/a>\u00a0and follow him on X\u00a0@btoppmeyer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College Football Playoff’s next Indiana is difficult team to find<\/a><\/p>\n