No college football poll mystery: Coaches are envious of Indiana | Opinion

It’s easy to blame the dumb media. What do we know?

Wouldn’t know elite from average if given the all-24 game tape, and explained every play.

But this Indiana disrespect goes much deeper — all the way to Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti’s own colleagues in the coaching fraternity.

They’re not buying all things Indiana. Apparently, they still want to see it to believe it.

Well, here comes believe it — in the form of big brand Ohio State Saturday in Bloomington.

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The same Ohio State that, if it were in the middle of a 22-game winning streak that included a national title, would be the No. 1 ranked team in the US LBM Coaches Poll. And it would be unanimous.

The carnival barkers at ESPN would be screeching about “the greatest team ever,” and considering the constant fluctuating state of the game, “is Ryan Day as the greatest coach ever in Ohio State history?!”.

No different than if it were Alabama on a 22-game heater. Or Georgia or LSU or Michigan or Notre Dame.

I mean, Notre Dame would have to win 22 in a row — but that’s another story for another time.

“Great team we’re playing,” Cignetti said. “Not sure how good we are yet."

Of course he is, but that’s not the point.

Like it or not, Indiana is still dealing with brand blues. Or maybe it’s just envy.

Or maybe — and here’s the real kick in the shorts — if the coaches do treat Indiana like Ohio State or Alabama or Georgia, it shines a very distinct light on the process of winning.

And more to the point, their own failure at schools — how can I say this? — who weren’t the armpit of the sport when they took over.

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You don’t need a big shiny new (or renovated) stadium, or an opulent football-only training facility, or deep-pocket boosters willing to spend $50 million on a roster. You just need good coaching.

Smart talent evaluation, and even better player development. Putting players in position to reach their collective ceilings.

If it can be done at Indiana, it can be done anywhere. No more excuses about strength of conference, or location of your geographic recruiting footprint or that, hey, they’ve got good players, too.

Cignetti and the Hoosiers blew all of that sideways with a magnificent 16-0 national title run last season. Backed up the greatest turnaround in Big Ten history from 2024, with the greatest story in sports in 2025.

Yet when the preseason began, those brilliant coaches who scoff at the dumb media ranked the Hoosiers No. 6 in their poll with 14 first-place votes. This week, the Hoosiers are ranked No. 4 and nine coaches at the top of their ballots, but why so much hesitation?

Because Indiana had a new quarterback?

Uh, fellas? Cignetti got Ohio transfer Kurtis Rourke to play at an elite level in 2024, and made Fernando Mendoza — a solid player at California in 2024 — the best player in college football in 2025. Cignetti then signed turnover-prone quarterback Josh Hoover from TCU, and declared “Josh’s best friends will be a running game and a great defense."

The quarterback who had 42 turnovers in the last three seasons at TCU, doesn’t have one in six games at Indiana.

A year before Canetti arrived in Bloomington from JMU and took defensive coordinator Bryant Haines with him, Indiana was 111th in the nation in scoring defense, giving up 30 points a game.

The Hoosiers jumped 105 spots to the No.6 defense in the nation in 2024, giving up 15.6 ppg. Last year, up to No.2 at 11.7 ppg.

It’s not a one-off. What exactly are the voters in the coaches poll waiting for?

Indiana has won 33 of 35 games under Cignetti. The two losses were to the 2024 national champion (Ohio State) and national runnerup (Notre Dame).

There have been big wins, statement games and road comebacks. Blowouts and white knuckles rides. You name it, we’ve seen it — the eye test is covered, thank you.

The only saving grace for the 74 coaches who vote in the US LBM poll is the dumb media. All of one voter in the Associated Press media poll that has the Hoosiers on top.

Brand blues, baby.

Or maybe just pure envy.

Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB. Listen to him daily, from 12-2 p.m., on 1010XL-Jacksonville.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No college football poll mystery: Coaches are envious of Indiana | Opinion