#1 INDIANA FOOTBALL 2025 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

[Lebowski]

3 minutes ago, Hovadipo said:

Starting my rewatch of 25-26 today. I really haven't rewatched a game except for the 4th quarter of the B1G title game randomly on BTN once. I was saving this experience for the dog days of summer when I'm dying for football and it's time.

It is truly baffling that the team that came out in the 1st half against Old Dominion went 16-0. This is the most week 1 game of all time.

Wait until you get to the Iowa game. Your mind will twist into a pretzel knowing 16-0 is the final outcome. 

[Brass Cannon]

1 minute ago, Hovadipo said:

Starting my rewatch of 25-26 today. I really haven't rewatched a game except for the 4th quarter of the B1G title game randomly on BTN once. I was saving this experience for the dog days of summer when I'm dying for football and it's time.

CollegeSports

 

It is truly baffling that the team that came out in the 1st half against Old Dominion went 16-0. This is the most week 1 game of all time.

We were so worried after this game. I think we were all thinking 24 had been nice 

[WayneFleekHoosier]

15 minutes ago, Lebowski said:

Wait until you get to the Iowa game. Your mind will twist into a pretzel knowing 16-0 is the final outcome. 

 

15 minutes ago, Lebowski said:

Wait until you get to the Iowa game. Your mind will twist into a pretzel knowing 16-0 is the final outcome. 

That game wrecked my nerves.  I was at another sporting event while watching this one from my phone.  It felt like an L to me.  But I wasn’t able to watch every single play like I normally do.  Was so relieved to pull this W out. 

[TheWatShot]

42 minutes ago, Brass Cannon said:

We were so worried after this game. I think we were all thinking 24 had been nice 

I distinctly remember people complaining at halftime of the Kennesaw State game that 2024 was a one-year wonder. 

[Lebowski]

2 hours ago, WayneFleekHoosier said:

 

That game wrecked my nerves.  I was at another sporting event while watching this one from my phone.  It felt like an L to me.  But I wasn’t able to watch every single play like I normally do.  Was so relieved to pull this W out. 

For all intensive purposes, it should have been an L. Iowa made some crucial mistakes and basically gave us that win. Credit to IUFB's defense as well. They made the plays that kept us in it. It was this game I knew we had something special. The PSU game was when I knew we might actually win the whole effin' thing. 

[WayneFleekHoosier]

37 minutes ago, Lebowski said:

For all intensive purposes, it should have been an L. Iowa made some crucial mistakes and basically gave us that win. Credit to IUFB's defense as well. They made the plays that kept us in it. It was this game I knew we had something special. The PSU game was when I knew we might actually win the whole effin' thing. 

The Oregon win on the road said to me the sky was the limit.  Very impressive.  
 
And Kudos to Sarratt for making big time play after big time play in that Iowa game.  

[FortWayneHoosier]

56 minutes ago, Lebowski said:

For all intensive purposes, it should have been an L. Iowa made some crucial mistakes and basically gave us that win. Credit to IUFB's defense as well. They made the plays that kept us in it. It was this game I knew we had something special. The PSU game was when I knew we might actually win the whole effin' thing. 

I thought for sure we were dead in the water at the end of that PSU game.......that game minus the dive made by Mendoza in championship game....might have been the greatest IU football drive down the field I have ever seen

[Brass Cannon]

Iowa definitely feels like the closest we have come to an L. Iowa had that game in the bag until they gave it back to us.  
 

Penn State was only in that game because a ref got in Ponds way.  Turned a 10 yard run into a 57 yard run 

[HoosierReb01]

3 hours ago, Lebowski said:

For all intensive purposes, it should have been an L. Iowa made some crucial mistakes and basically gave us that win. Credit to IUFB's defense as well. They made the plays that kept us in it. It was this game I knew we had something special. The PSU game was when I knew we might actually win the whole effin' thing. 

The Oregon game was when I shelled out for B1G championship tickets. Money well spent.

[OliviaPope40]

3 hours ago, FortWayneHoosier said:

I thought for sure we were dead in the water at the end of that PSU game.......that game minus the dive made by Mendoza in championship game....might have been the greatest IU football drive down the field I have ever seen

Love when Gus Johnson's voice at the end of the PSU game cracks on Cooper's catch. I thought we were done on the first play of the Ohio State game. 

[8bucks]

On 7/23/2026 at 9:16 AM, Lebowski said:

I have the Rose Bowl kickoff panoramic hanging in my office. I know this is might be weird but for some reason I think winning the Rose Bowl meant more to me than any of the other post season wins. No clue why. Might be the history of it? Who knows. Don't get me wrong though, winning the CFP outright has me ecstatic. 

I went to the Peach Bowl and it was great but if I could have chosen again I would have to go with the Rose Bowl. I probably enjoyed the championship more on my couch but I am sure being there would have possibly been the best. Something about the Rose Bowl and crushing Alabama 

[Lebowski]

11 hours ago, 8bucks said:

I went to the Peach Bowl and it was great but if I could have chosen again I would have to go with the Rose Bowl. I probably enjoyed the championship more on my couch but I am sure being there would have possibly been the best. Something about the Rose Bowl and crushing Alabama 

I was there. I sat next to a more older-timer than myself; He flew from Fort Myers, FL and was at the Rose Bowl game when the 1967 season team played against SC. We both got teary-eyed after Sarratt's TD in the 3rd. I rewatched the game multiple times and at one point Herbstreit mentioned what the history of the Rose Bowl means to the conference and how much it means to some of the fans sitting in the stands. He hit the nail on the head. Because think about it, prior to the BCS, it was the ultimate goal. It was an exclusive bowl for the Big Ten champion to play. It's the grand daddy of them all. And for me, all that pinned up frustration of losing season after losing season was just released in that 38-3 beat down over arguably the most prestigious program in college football history. I was a grown ars man sitting there in tears and it was glorious. 

[Stuhoo]

I was at the Peach Bowl.

For the time surrounding Ponds' pick six it approached the loudest stadium I have ever been in. I'm getting old and there have been many great ones, but here are the loudest sports moments I have witnessed in person in my life:

1. Northwestern over #2 UM - college hoops, January, 1977. McGaw Hall in Evanston was an unsafe structure with the old arena shaking so badly. Northwestern was terrible and had lost by 40 to that UM team a month earlier. Felt like the ultimate David vs Goliath upset.
2. Ponds pick six and the hours that followed: Peach Bowl 2026, IU over Oregon:
3. Chicago White Sox 5, Kansas City Royals 4 in 10 innings. July 31, 1977. The Sox go down two in the 10th and score three  - pandemonium - the crowd starts sing "Na Na Na Hey Hey" with nobody on and never stops until they win. The supposedly lowly South Side Hitmen take over first place in a sold out Comiskey. Wanna hear the best announcer ever in his prime? Pick up Harry Caray at the 2 hour, 50 minute mark: 
4. March 12, 1988 Hoosiers 116, Iowa 89 at Assembly. Pure bedlam as we couldn't miss against a highly ranked Iowa team.

[str8baller]

I think the loudest stadiums I’ve been in remain some HS sectional basketball games pre-class basketball.  Peach Bowl was close. 
 

Atlanta was a nice venue because you could walk everything even though I would’ve preferred SoCal as a destination. I agree the Rose Bowl, pre-BCS, was a huge deal so it was very cool to go out there and win. 30 years ago IU would’ve went out there and crushed Alabama and been crowned national champs the next day, but that wasn’t the case this time.  
 

In any event, it was so fun watching Cig just run the gauntlet and crush all these demons in one year: B1G champs, first playoff win, Rose Bowl, National Champs.   
 

I don’t think it’ll never not be crazy to me. 

[Magnanimous]

I was at the Rose Bowl, and one anecdote that I found very amusing was how lame “Dixeland Delight” sounded at a marque football game, especially when we were able to counter with “Hurts So Good.” The 20% Bama crowd sounded so meek softly singing “spend my dollar…” compared to 50,000 Hoosiers belting Mellancamp. That song really fits for our program, and I’m glad it’ll be our thing going forward.

[southsidehoosier]

On 7/31/2026 at 6:26 PM, Magnanimous said:

I was at the Rose Bowl, and one anecdote that I found very amusing was how lame “Dixeland Delight” sounded at a marque football game, especially when we were able to counter with “Hurts So Good.” The 20% Bama crowd sounded so meek softly singing “spend my dollar…” compared to 50,000 Hoosiers belting Mellancamp. That song really fits for our program, and I’m glad it’ll be our thing going forward.

Tide fans too dumb to know that song is actually about the state of Tennessee 

[Magnanimous]

2 hours ago, southsidehoosier said:

Tide fans too dumb to know that song is actually about the state of Tennessee 

They think it’s about driving up to Tennessee and sleeping with their women…

[Brass Cannon]

26 minutes ago, Magnanimous said:

They think it’s about driving up to Tennessee and sleeping with their women…

Does that confuse them though?  Why drive to Tennessee when your sister is in the next room 

[cthomas]

1 hour ago, Brass Cannon said:

Does that confuse them though?  Why drive to Tennessee when your sister is in the next room 

I find this disturbingly funny.