Indiana, Ole Miss stories exactly what college football needs

By Chris Marler

New Year’s Day 2026 was a good day. Not just for resolutions and new beginnings either. It was probably good for those too, but it was a great day for the sport of college football, and it came at a time when it was desperately needed. 

Greg McElroy: “I mean, are you kidding me?… What a throw!.. He’s on fire right now! He’s hit three threes in a row in NBA Jam, and he’s on fire! He can’t miss!” 🏈🔥🎙️ #CFP pic.twitter.com/ZLq65uTmtj

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 2, 2026

The SEC’s dominance, and Alabama and Georgia having the rest of the sport in a collective vice grip for the last decade and a half has been objectively bad for the sport. Even the years those two teams haven’t won a title, they usually played in it. That was usually against a team within driving distance from either campus as well, like Clemson or Florida State. 

The dominance we saw from the pre-NIL and transfer portal era created a lot of things: pride and arrogance from the programs benefitting from it. The teams, programs, and roughly 48 other states that weren’t benefitting though? Anger and dissonance. That slowly turned into apathy and disinterest. 

A 38-3 win from Indiana over Alabama in the Rose Bowl and one of the most memorable Sugar Bowl finishes in our lifetime went a long way in changing that. It would be a fool’s errand to simply surmise those wins as some metaphoric changing of the guard. That may very well be what they signified in the long run, but who knows. What they absolutely did embody was a welcome change to the status quo and unintended gatekeeping of opportunity that the consolidation of power in the sport created over the last two decades. 

For two decades SEC fans were able to beat their chest and look down their nose at every other program and conference in the country. They were dismissive and demeaning to anyone who dare question the greatness of the conference, and the 12, then 14, and ultimately 16 teams that made it up. To be clear, they did so with good reason. Not anymore though. 

That reign of winning wasn’t necessarily what was bad for the sport. It was the geographic monopolization of relevance and the suppression of hope for anyone outside of the region that was. Sure, Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon, Notre Dame, and a few select others were allowed to join the party. But Indiana? Group of six schools? Or even lower tier programs within their own conference like Ole Miss were rarely given a bid to the fraternity of blue blood one percenters that were running the sport. 

That has changed, and while we can’t be certain of what specific date or specific new wrinkle in the sport itself was the sole cause, it has changed nonetheless. 

Thursday proved that and then some. Watching Indiana, who is historically the worst Power four program in college football, completely dismantle the greatest program in the sport was as inspiring as it was surreal. More than that, it was comforting and relieving. The layers that go into it are as well. It’s not just that Indiana and Ole Miss are winning in the NIL era. It’s that they’re doing it without embodying the worst parts of the NIL era. If Curt Cignetti turned around Indiana football with a roster that cost $20 million, then we aren’t having the same conversations that we are currently having. We are probably doing what we do best in 2026 – cynically justifying to ourselves that it was the only reason why it ever happened. 

Curt Cignetti in two years at Indiana:

* 25-2
* Two playoff appearances
* First ever Big Ten title
* Only two 10-win seasons in school history
* Wins over Ohio State, Bama, Oregon
* Heisman Trophy winner

Will keep saying it: We’re watching one of the best sports stories EVER pic.twitter.com/cMpW5hGEsx

— Aaron Torres (@Aaron_Torres) January 2, 2026

Instead, we are getting to watch two incredible underdog stories, destroying narratives along with whatever team is in their way. The Perennial lovable loser, Indiana Hoosiers are two wins away from the first 16-0 season in college football history. And, Ole Miss, the upper lower class program in the SEC socioeconomic hierarchy, is one win away from playing for their first ever national title behind a former Division II quarterback that no one knew this summer. 

That’s not great for Alabama fans. That’s not great for Georgia fans either. 

It is, however, great for college football, and that’s something to cheer for.