As part of Buckeye Sports Bulletin’s coverage of Big Ten Media Days (July 28-30), we are taking a look at several conference opponents Ohio State is scheduled to face during the 2026 season.
Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti has spent the last two seasons transforming the Hoosiers from a perennial Big Ten bottom-feeder into one of the conference’s and nation’s emerging powers.
Now, his focus is on preserving the culture that has fueled Indiana’s success over the past two seasons.
Cignetti led Indiana to its first College Football Playoff appearance with an 11-2 record in 2024, which was already the best mark in school history. He then elevated the Hoosiers even further with a perfect 16-0 campaign and the program’s first national championship in 2025.
Despite entering 2026 as the reigning national champions, Cignetti said he isn’t concerned about opponents viewing the Hoosiers as the team to beat.
“I don’t look at it like that. We wake up tomorrow, we’re going to do the things that we have to do to improve as much as possible to put the best day together and then do the same thing the following day,” Cignetti said. “Then it all takes care of itself because I’m a firm believer. If you stack days and meetings, do the proper preparation on a consistent basis. You can accomplish anything. Anything. And that’s how we’ll go about it.”
That day-by-day mindset has become the foundation of Indiana’s turnaround under Cignetti, who has consistently emphasized accountability and character since taking the helm of the Hoosiers.
The veteran coach offered perhaps the clearest example of that philosophy when discussing how he handles players who don’t fit the program’s standards.
“I think when you have a lot of good people, the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. We don’t have bad apples. Coach Cignetti takes care of the bad apples,” Cignetti said. “When they start getting a little soft on one side, they get looked at real close. When they get rotted some more a little while later, they’re out of here.”
One of the biggest criticisms Cignetti faced after taking the Indiana job was his reliance on players from his previous stop at James Madison.
Thirteen Dukes from James Madison’s 11-1 squad in 2023 transferred to Indiana following his hiring, prompting some to question whether the Hoosiers’ success was built primarily on familiar faces.
Two years, two playoff appearances and a national championship later, Cignetti believes that narrative should be put to rest.
“We have a good culture downstairs. I’m going to get asked about the JMU guys.” Cignetti said. “All the guys that have been with us for two years that were at Indiana my first year, they’re the JMU guys, okay.”
Instead, Cignetti credits the program’s culture and veteran leadership for sustaining Indiana’s success regardless of where players began their college careers.
“Well, I mean, that’s culture. That’s leadership. That’s where having guys that have been in the program and been successful, they have strong character and are smart, helps. I like to recruit good players that are smart and have strong character because you can do a lot with guys like that.”
Ohio State will travel to Bloomington on Oct. 17 in what projects to be one of the most highly anticipated contests of the year.
Indiana will face North Texas (Sept. 5), Howard (Sept. 12) and Western Kentucky (Sept. 19) and Northwestern (Sept. 25) at home, before traveling to Rutgers (Oct. 3) and Nebraska (Oct. 10) with an off week separating its first six games with its home matchup with the Buckeyes.
While Cignetti acknowledged the matchup’s significance, praising Ohio State as a longtime Big Ten powerhouse, he said there is plenty of football to be played before either team can focus on that contest.
“It probably depends on how we’re playing leading up to that point, and how they’re playing,” Cignetti said. “I would say, it’s probably going to be a great environment, but a lot of things need to be done before then. They’re a great program, got a lot of respect for them, got a lot of respect for coach (Ryan) Day. Great fanbase. They’re a Goliath. There’s some Goliaths in the Big Ten. They’ve been Goliaths for a long time.”
Cignetti concluded his media session by praising the strength and depth of the Big Ten while taking a subtle jab at the SEC’s reputation as college football’s premier conference.
“The Big Ten is the best league in football, and a lot of really good football teams,” Cignetti said. “It’s hard to win on the road, very physical football teams, very well-coached. It definitely prepares you for the playoffs. There’s no doubt about it, the numbers speak for themselves.”
“We don’t run a hype machine up here in the Midwest. We believe everything is earned, not given. When we fall short, we say ‘We fell short.’ We don’t cry a river, whine and complain. That’s why we’re the best.”
