Galen Clavio of Indiana University joins me to preview Indiana football's 2026 season, give his record prediction for the Hoosiers, say what he believes Curt Cignetti has in store this year, and name his Big Ten sleeper teams.
Clavio breaks down Indiana's roster heading into the season, including the turnover at quarterback, moving from Fernando Mendoza to Josh Hoover, and across the defense after last year's championship run, and gives his real record prediction for a team trying to repeat with a significantly different roster than the one that went 16-0. The losses of D'Angelo Ponds, Omar Cooper Jr., Elijah Sarratt, Riley Nowakowski, and Aiden Fisher in addition to Mendoza can not be understated.
However, there is a real chance that this team is as good as or better than last season's team. They could also be worse, but regardless, this team will be inside of the top 10, whether 10th or the best team in college football. Indiana's defensive front should upgrade with Stephen Daley, Tyrique Tucker, Rolijah Hardy, and others returning in addition to key incoming transfers. The Hoosiers boast one of the deepest and best defensive lines in the sport. Offensively, Indiana is more explosive at wide receiver, and their starting five on the offensive line could be the nation's best.
Clavio and I ultimately believe this team is more talented than last season's team and carries an interesting juxtaposition, where with higher talent and better depth, its floor is higher, and its ceiling should be higher, but with questions at quarterback, you could see a much lower floor than the 2025 team in the brightest moments, against Ohio State or in the College Football Playoff. He picks Indiana to make a return to the Big Ten Championship and the CFP.
We also spend real time on the rest of the Big Ten, with Clavio naming the sleeper team he thinks is being overlooked heading into the season and explaining exactly why. This isn't a homer take just because he covers Indiana closely. Clavio brings a national perspective to both the Indiana preview and the sleeper pick.
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0:00 Stephen Daley's Return
4:15 Expectations For This Indiana Football Team
8:55 Analyzing Indiana's 2026 Schedule
11:40 Biggest Changes On Defense
16:10 Biggest Changes On Offense
20:20 Ceiling & Floor Conversation
26:30 Is Indiana Underrated Again?
31:15 Indiana Record Prediction
38:55 Big Ten Sleeper Teams
43:10 Non-Conference Scheduling
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