The 2024 College Football Playoff expanded for the first time in history, growing from four teams to 12. This expansion allowed six teams to make the playoff for the first time in their histories: the Tennessee Volunteers, Boise State Broncos, Indiana Hoosiers, SMU Mustangs, Penn State Nittany Lions, and Arizona State Sun Devils.
On “The Paul Finebaum Show,” SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum discussed a shift in power within college football. He noted that while the Big Ten has won the last two national championships, the SEC remains a strong contender as a conference. Finebaum mentioned that the Big Ten and SEC had three teams in the playoff, but he believed the Big Ten only had two strong teams, with the third being a bit of a fluke.
Ohio State Buckeyes running back Quinshon Judkins (1) slices through the Indiana Hoosiers’ defense during the first half of the NCAA football game at Ohio Stadium.Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
“You had two really good teams in the Big Ten last year,” Finebaum said. “Indiana wasn’t great. They were a fluke.”
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Finebaum was not impressed by the Hoosiers, even though they finished the 2024 season with an 11-2 record, suffering both losses to teams that reached the national championship game. While the 11 wins marked the most in the school’s history, their season ended with a 27-17 defeat to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the first round of the playoffs.
Throughout the season, Finebaum was particularly critical of Indiana, referring to them as the “biggest con job” in the playoffs and arguing that they did not have a “legitimate” non-conference opponent. He believed the Hoosiers would have had a losing record in the SEC.
According to ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI), Indiana had the 35th-ranked schedule in college football for 2024 and was considered the 10th-best team in the sport. However, last season, the Hoosiers defeated only two teams with winning records, neither of which had more than eight wins. They faced just two teams with more than eight wins and lost those games by a combined score of 33 points.
Despite the criticism, head coach Curt Cignetti had an impressive first year in Bloomington. He will now aim to build on that success and prove to skeptics like Finebaum that last season’s achievements were not a fluke and that the Hoosiers are here to stay.
Related: Paul Finebaum Names College Football Playoff Team He ‘Never’ Took Seriously