Story byDan TreacyMon, January 19, 2026 at 8:30 AM UTC·6 min readIndiana preseason odds: Where Hoosiers would rank among most unlikely college football champions originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. Cinderella stories aren't supposed to happen in college football. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementEven in college hoops, where a single-elimination tournament makes Cinderella runs more common, a true Cinderella national champion is extraordinarily rare. The transfer portal and expanded playoff have arguably opened a wider path for more college football programs to compete nationally, but what Indiana has accomplished in just two years under Curt Cignetti has surpassed what most believed possible in a sport that lacked much parity at its highest levels in the decades leading up to the 2025 season. From three winning seasons in 29 years to the doorstep of a 16-0 national championship, there hasn’t been a story like Indiana’s in recent memory — and the odds prove it, even if they don’t tell the full story. Here’s a look back at Indiana’s preseason odds and how they compare to recent college football national champions. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMORE CFP CHAMPIONSHIP GAME NEWS:Expert prediction of Indiana-Miami finalCurt Cignetti's past meets his future in semisRoster breakdown: Who has more blue-chippers?Is Indiana better than Joe Burrow-led LSU?Miami's run has a March Madness feelIndiana preseason oddsIndiana entered the season with +10000 odds to win a national championship, according to Sports-Reference. That would make the Hoosiers college football's most unlikely national champion since data became available in 2002. At +10000, Indiana had more distant odds than 22 teams, including 4-8 Florida, 4-8 South Carolina and 5-7 Auburn. Remarkably, preseason odds only tell part of the story of how unlikely an Indiana national championship would be.
