Heading into the 2025 season, no Football Bowl Subdivision program had suffered more losses in its history than Indiana football’s 715 defeats.
In head coach Curt Cignetti’s first season at the helm in 2024, the Hoosiers began to turn the tide. They made their first College Football Playoff appearance in school history and finished the season with an 11-2 overall record.
However, Indiana began its historic 2024 campaign with the third-least talented roster in the Big Ten, at least on paper, ahead of only Rutgers and Illinois, per 247Sports’ 2024 College Big Ten Football Team Talent Composite.
Now, Indiana has risen to the top of the college football landscape as the only undefeated team in the FBS with a 13-0 overall record. The Hoosiers earned the No. 1 seed in this year’s CFP after defeating Ohio State 13-10 on Saturday in the Big Ten Championship game. They beat the Buckeyes for the first time since 1988 and won their first outright Big Ten title since 1945, though they shared the title with Purdue and Minnesota in 1967.
Despite Indiana’s meteoric turnaround, the Hoosiers’ talent again ranked at the bottom of the Big Ten to begin the 2025 season, per 247Sports’ talent composite rankings. Ohio State started four former five-star recruits against the Hoosiers on Saturday, while the Cream and Crimson trotted out just two former four-stars and zero five-stars.
“I'd like to think we're at the level of Ohio State in terms of recruiting, but we're not right now,” Cignetti said during his weekly media availability Dec. 1. “Ohio State's in a league of their own for a lot of different reasons. And a big part of it is their tradition, their winning history and all the National Championships that they've won, and the money that they've put into the program over a long, extended period of time.”
Indiana’s two former four-star prospects in the starting lineup Saturday included redshirt junior wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. and sixth-year redshirt senior receiver E.J. Williams Jr. The latter transferred to Indiana in 2023 after spending three seasons at Clemson University.
Outside of Cooper Jr. and Williams Jr., Indiana built its roster around low-ranked prospects coming out of high school.
Senior wide receiver Elijah Sarratt garnered zero stars coming out of St. Frances Academy in Baltimore. Sarratt first committed to Saint Francis University, then transferred to James Madison University where Cignetti was the head coach, before following Cignetti to Bloomington in 2024.
Despite only playing two seasons as a Hoosier, Sarratt has racked up 1,920 receiving yards and 26 touchdowns through the air. The Stafford, Virginia, native also reeled in a 17-yard touchdown pass from redshirt junior quarterback Fernando Mendoza on Saturday, which marked the go-ahead and final touchdown of the Big Ten Football Championship game.
Sarratt said his journey from a zero-star recruit to winning the Big Ten title was “a surreal feeling” during player media availability Monday.
“It’s crazy, Sarratt said. “I’m still processing it, just that whole moment, just seeing the confetti coming down, us being on the podium, hearing the crowd pop, scoring the touchdown.”
In addition to Sarratt, seven other former zero-star recruits made an impact on Saturday’s game. The Hoosiers’ starting defensive line consists of two zero-star prospects –– redshirt junior Tyrique Tucker and redshirt senior Mikail Kamara. Tucker and Kamara both followed Cignetti from James Madison to Indiana.
Meanwhile, Indiana’s starting linebacker duo of sophomore Rolijah Hardy and senior Aiden Fisher both earned zero stars out of high school. Yet, this duo, combined with the Hoosiers’ defensive front, have limited opponents to 77.6 rushing yards per game ––– the third lowest mark in the nation. Hardy and Fisher are the Hoosiers’ two leading tacklers this season, with 86 tackles and 77 tackles, respectively.
Sixth-year redshirt senior safety Louis Moore was a zero-star prospect but still secured an interception on Ohio State’s opening drive to set the Hoosiers up in prime field position early. Moore is tied for second in the FBS with six interceptions.
Coaching a roster filled with over-looked players coming out of high school, Cignetti emphasized the importance of player development and instilling a positive culture.
Cignetti added that a win against Ohio State “would do a lot” in closing the recruiting gap between the two programs.
Indiana has signed four four-star recruits in the 2026 class while flipping offensive lineman Benjamin Novak, safety D’Montae Tims and wide receiver Lavar Keys from other Power Four schools. Novak, Tims and Keys are all three-star prospects.
As Indiana looks ahead to the Rose Bowl Game on Jan. 1, a roster full of players who were not expected to reach this stage are at the heart of an improbable turnaround.
“Can you keep them healthy?” Cignetti said. “Do you have a good culture? I mean, do they like it here? Do they like each other? Do you have good leadership? That's all part of development, and I think we've excelled in those areas.”
Follow reporters Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and columnist Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa and qmrichar@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
