Episode Details

Indiana Football had the best defense in college football during its 2025 national championship season — but could the Hoosiers somehow be EVEN BETTER in 2026?

On today's Locked On Hoosiers, Jacob Goins breaks down why Curt Cignetti's defense has a chance to be historically good this season. Indiana returns major production along the defensive front, added even more talent through the transfer portal and once again has one of college football's top defensive staffs.

Could this become one of the best defenses college football has ever seen?

Plus, we dive deeper into Indiana's No. 6 ranking in the preseason AP Top 25 and two fascinating historical trends that could point toward the Hoosiers having a legitimate chance to repeat as national champions.

Finally, we react to a controversial reported comment from an NCAA Tournament Selection Committee member and discuss why subjective postseason selection continues to create problems across college athletics.

Subscribe to Locked On Hoosiers for daily Indiana Football and Indiana Basketball coverage.

00:00 Indiana Defense Preview

01:11 Defense Historic Hype

02:29 Defensive Line Depth

03:36 Bryant Haines Leadership

04:20 Defensive Line Stats

05:47 Game Offensive Shifts

06:23 Scheme and Versatility

07:08 Secondary and Depth

07:39 Scrimmage Takeaways

08:44 Defensive Sustainability

09:32 AP Preseason Poll

12:14 Top 6 Poll Comparison

13:00 Media Disrespect Issues

13:52 Human Voters Flaws

14:24 Championship Poll Trends

15:37 Polls: Past Misses

16:12 Indiana’s Title Chances

17:20 Motivation From Doubt

18:11 Indiana Locker Room Culture

18:56 History Supports Repeat

19:34 NCAA Selection Critique

21:51 NCAA Committee Corruption

23:05 Selection Threat Quote

24:05 Selection Bias Fallout

25:01 Human Element in Selection

25:55 NCAA Tournament Validity

27:46 NCAA Accountability Question

28:07 Episode Wrap-Up

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