Indiana football has eyes on a repeat national championship entering year three of the Curt Cignetti era. But for the Hoosiers to reach their ultimate goals and stay atop college football’s mountaintop, they’ll need to overcome a difficult 2026 season schedule which includes Big Ten opponents Ohio State, USC, Michigan, Washington and more.

CBS Sports analyst Brad Crawford recently released game-by-game picks and win-loss projections for every Big Ten team. Crawford projects Indiana to finish the regular season with a 10-2 overall record and 7-2 record in conference play, and earn a third-straight trip to the College Football Playoff as the No. 6 seed.

“Indiana won’t repeat as conference champions in 2026, but don’t expect Curt Cignetti’s program to take much of a step back,” Crawford wrote. “The Hoosiers are built for sustained success thanks to an elite transfer portal operation, proven coaching stability and one of the Big Ten’s deepest rosters.”

Crawford’s game-by-game predictions include wins against Ohio State at home, USC at home and Nebraska on the road. Indiana’s only two losses, according to Crawford, come on the road at Michigan in Week 8 and at Washington in Week 11.

“A 10-2 finish feels right with potentially surprising road losses at Michigan and Washington representing the toughest hurdles on the schedule, especially for a team replacing several NFL-caliber contributors from last season’s title run,” Crawford wrote. “Still, Indiana has enough firepower offensively and a defense loaded with experienced playmakers to win every other game on the slate, including Ohio State. Josh Hoover gives the Hoosiers a capable veteran under center, and the supporting cast remains among the conference’s best.”

According to ESPN’s SP+ metrics, Indiana is projected as the No. 5-ranked team nationally and the No. 3-ranked Big Ten team behind Ohio State (No. 1 SP+) and Oregon (No. 2 SP+).

In each of the three phases according to SP+, the Hoosiers are projected to have the No. 9 offense nationally and No. 4 in the Big Ten, No. 6 defense nationally and No. 3 in the Big Ten, and the No. 22 special teams nationally and No. 3 in the Big Ten.

Based on Indiana’s schedule, SP+ projects IU to have the No. 31 strength-of-schedule nationally and No. 12 in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers’ average win expectancy total is 9.9 wins out of 12 regular season games. In terms of projected record outcomes, Connelly’s model gives Indiana a 99.9 percent chance to reach 6+ wins and a 32.8 percent chance to reach 11+ wins. Indiana’s average Big Ten win total is 7.0 out of nine conference games.

Here are Crawford’s full predictions for Indiana’s 2026 season:

WINS: North Texas, Howard, Western Kentucky, Northwestern, at Rutgers, at Nebraska, Ohio State, Minnesota, USC, Purdue

LOSSES: at Michigan, at Washington

OVERALL RECORD: 10-2

BIG TEN RECORD: 7-2

BIG TEN FINISH: 3rd place (behind Ohio State, Oregon)

CFP SEEDING: No. 6 seed (first-round home game)

Click here to read Crawford’s full Big Ten record predictions.