The college football season concluded on Jan. 19, as the Indiana Hoosiers under second-year head coach Curt Cignetti won a 27-21 national championship game against Mario Cristobal’s Miami Hurricanes. The tightly-contested game, and the post-game confrontations, marked the end of a highly anticipated, and highly unusual, college football season. In a season of storylines, here’s what the National Championship has left us wondering about.

The rise of Indiana

Indiana University (IU)’s football program has been a perennial bottom-tier team for nearly its entire existence. Before 2024, they only had three winning seasons in the entire 21^st century (one of those being the Covid-shortened 2020 season), did not have a bowl win since 1991 and had more all-time losses than any other team in college football.

That all changed in 2024, when they hired Curt Cignetti, the coach at the surging James Madison University and a former assistant to coaching legend Nick Saban. In his first season at IU in 2024, he led the team to an 11-2 record and a playoff appearance, only losing to the eventual champions and runners-up in Ohio State and Notre Dame, respectively. In year two, Cignetti and Indiana went from contending to dominating, racking up a 16-0 season with wins over defending champions Ohio State, Oregon (twice), Alabama, and Miami. Starting quarterback Fernando Mendoza became the first-ever Heisman Trophy winner in the school’s history, and they won as many postseason games this season (3) as the team had won in their entire history before this year.

Beyond just making school history, the 2025 Hoosiers were an all-time great team. They had the second-highest point differential of any team in CFB since 1956, and they finished in the top 5 in both total offense and total defense, one of only three championship-winning teams in the 21^st century to do so, alongside Georgia in 2022 and Clemson in 2018. Their 16-0 season makes them one of only two teams in history with this record, with the other being the 1894 Yale Bulldogs.  Whatever the future holds for Indiana, their turnaround in the last two seasons has been remarkable.

The Return of The U

Miami may not have won the title, but they proved that The U is truly back in the national conversation for the first time in over two decades. Miami last won a national championship in 2001, and while they’ve remained competitive in most years, no Miami team has managed to fully recapture the dominance (and the revilement) that Miami held for several decades around the end of the 20^th century.

A 13-3 record and wins over Ohio State, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and historic rival Notre Dame inspire confidence that one of the best college football programs in history might be on the upswing once again. Despite some miscues and a pair of tough losses against SMU and Louisville (losses which cost them a shot at the ACC title game), Miami battled through their season, snuck into the playoffs as the last at-large team, and stormed their way through a string of upsets into the national championship. With many of their key players, including standout freshman receiver Malachi Toney, returning for next season, the Hurricanes are a team to watch in 2026.

The Decline of the SEC

2026’s national championship game marks the third year in a row that no team from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) has made it to the title game. Ole Miss was the only SEC team to make the final 4, while the SEC’s blue bloods in Alabama and Georgia both fell in the quarterfinals. The absence of SEC teams from the finals is historically notable; before 2024’s championship matchup between Michigan and Washington, at least one SEC school had participated in the previous eight title games, winning six of those eight. Across the 21^st century so far, the SEC has 14 national championships, with Alabama alone contributing six of those titles and nine total appearances in the championship game.

Time will tell if the SEC has lost its advantage or if this is a mere statistical anomaly. More pressing might be whether the AP poll, the playoff committee, and journalists will adjust their models to account for the SEC’s decline. Thus far, all signs indicate that the CFB world will continue to overhype the SEC no matter what the on-field results look like.

NIL and Increasing Parity

The addition of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) payments to the college sports world has massively changed the world of college football. While there have been negative consequences, most notably the massive rise in student transfers in search of higher pay deals, it has permitted historically bad teams to financially recruit higher-quality players by promising them higher NIL deals and greater playing time.

Part of Indiana’s success is likely a direct result of NIL, as the Hoosiers have a large and active alumni and donor network that has helped fund their program into the new era. Meanwhile, teams like Alabama that relied on deep benches and players being willing to stick it out to learn from their coaches have lost much of their power. Talented players deeper on depth charts are now having to consider whether it’s smart to move to a smaller team, become a starter, and get a big NIL payout. With Indiana, a team built out of misfits, transfers, and depth-chart players, taking home the title, expect more players to go hunting for their next big opportunity.

It’s common to associate sports events with drinking, and drinking with rape. There is even a study relating Division I football, parties and sexual assault. In many cases the accused are players and it can get harder to see them as bad people when everyone is celebrating their team. Sometimes, even when a victim tries to speak up people don’t believe them because of the accused’s good reputation.

On Oct.3, after almost two years, NCAA finally completed the investigation concerning the Baylor University sexual assault scandal. The school was involved in numerous sexual and physical assaults committed by some of its students – some of whom were football players. Baylor’s football team had even bigger problems when it was disclosed that some of the university’s officials failed to take action regarding those allegations.

It was also exposed that Baylor University had an all-female student group called Baylor Bruins, who were “on call for football players to make sure that they had a good time,” and school officials also knew about this group and its activities.

“The Bruins had an official policy of no sexual contact with recruits/prospective athletes or current football players,” said one of Baylor’s attorneys.

But it was also stated by two witnesses that Richard Willis, a Baylor Board of Regents chairman from 2012-2016, said that the school’s football team was successful, in part, because it had the “the best blond-haired, blue-eyed p—-” in Texas.

In Baylor’s case, even the head coach, who was fired in 2016 after internal investigations, knew about what was happening and didn’t come forward – a testimony to how sports can be prioritized above students well-being.

The outcome of the investigation was Baylor University being charged with a “lack of institutional control” amidst the allegations. NCAA and Baylor University haven’t publicly commented on this matter since for now the case is still not closed, and sources say that “this situation should be resolved in the spring of 2019.”

This is an example of how things can get covered up, and even when unveiled, take a long time be solved. This not only discourages victims but can also make them feel like is useless to come forward and press charges.

In 2013, there was even a case of child sexual assault in which a William Jewell College football player was involved. On Feb. 2012, Blake Brown was charged with attempted deviant sexual assault. Later that year, one of the victim’s mothers filled a report against Brown because he had been trying to meet and have sex with her 13 year-old daughter. The mom said she didn’t know about the previous charges and that she was concerned how he was also Facebook friends with 33 of her daughter’s 13 year-old friends.

Initial accusations against Brown did not result in prison time, despite incriminating testimonies and digital records from several girls between the ages of 11 and 15. Yet, after violating his parole and maintaining an active facebook account after being barred from the social media site, Brown was sentenced to four years in prison.

Movements like the It’s On Us campaign have empowered students by providing more resources for victims of sexual assault. These are complemented by campus wide trainings – like that held at Jewell during the first-year orientation – to encourage victims to report.

He lost his hand due to a prenatal condition. During his mother Tangie Griffin’s twin pregnancy, a fibrous strand of the amniotic membrane had wrapped around Shaquem’s left wrist. Doctors had the choice to take it off, but moving the band could make it wrap around the neck of one of the twins. Mrs. Griffin decided to not move the band. At 4 years old the pain on Shaquem’s left hand was so bad that it led the family to decide to amputate the hand.

Fast forward 22 years. Shaquem got invited to the NFL Scouting Combine after an initial snub. So far he’s making everyone’s jaw drop.

The Combine is an event where athletes are put through tests to showcase their athletic ability. Every year, the very best college football players are invited to the Combine in Indianapolis, Ind., where all 32 NFL teams conduct an intense, four-day “job interview” in advance of the NFL Draft.  

All potential NFL players participate in various workouts, such as the 40-yard dash, bench press, vertical jump, broad jump, 3-cone drill and shuttle run.

The reasons why Griffin is shining are his results and his dedication. He ran a time of 4.28 in the 40-yard dash, the fastest for a linebacker in more than a decade. And on the bench press, he did 20 reps using a prosthetic on his left arm to attach to the bar, his performance was better than 10 of the offensive linemen who did their bench presses the day before.

Photo courtesy of golfdigest.com

Needless to say, Griffin is breaking all the barriers he faces and is on the right path to become the first amputee athlete in the NFL.

Photo courtesy of The Orlando Sentinal.

Familiar Faces

Photo courtesy of Sports Illustrated

Lamar Jackson is still rolling after his sophomore Heisman-winning season. So far Jackson has racked up over 1,400 total yards and 11 total touchdowns through the first three games of his junior season. Unfortunately for his case, the Louisville Cardinals were beaten handily by Clemson’s bullying defensive line with a final score of 47-21, putting the Cardinals’ record at 2-1 to start the season. This loss doesn’t derail Jackson much, but it doesn’t help his push to become the second player ever to win two Heisman trophies either.

Oklahoma senior quarterback Baker Mayfield finished third in Heisman voting last season and has only seemed to improve this season. Through his first three games, he has led the Oklahoma Sooners to a 3-0 record, averaging over 47 points a game. One of these wins included a huge win over then number two ranked Ohio State in which Mayfield seemed to separate himself as one of the best quarterbacks in college football. The numbers don’t lie for Mayfield either. Through these three games he has over 1,000 yards passing and 10 touchdowns. Most have him leading in the Heisman race so far.

New Faces Becoming Household Names

Photo courtesy of 6abc Philidelphia

One of the best football games played in the 2016 CFB season was the Rose Bowl. On Jan. 2, 2017, the University of Southern California (USC) edged out Penn State University 52-49 in the final seconds of the fourth quarter. Two key players from that game have stayed in the spotlight and become not only household names in CFB this season, but have also made their claims in the Heisman discussion this season.

Sophomore Sam Darnold became the leader of USC’s offense when he took over quarterback week four of 2016, a loss to Utah and USC’s final loss of the season. He led the Trojans to a record of 9-1, with one win and two losses coming at the hands of another quarterback for an overall record of 10-3, including the Rose Bowl win over Penn State. Darnold’s exceptional pocket-passing quarterback play has not only gotten the attention of CFB fans and players, but after such a big bowl game win over Penn State, he is projected to be the number one overall pick in the 2018 National Football League (NFL) Draft. While Darnold has gotten off to a relatively slow start for his sophomore season, throwing just over 1,000 yards and having only seven touchdowns to six interceptions, the USC Trojans are as hot as ever and have started the season 3-0, which has kept his name in the discussion for the honor thus far.

Penn State had a balanced attack in the Rose Bowl matchup with USC with over 250 yards passing and over 200 yards rushing. This season, the balanced attack of the Nittany Lions is still intact, but it is very clear who the focus of their offense’s attack has become. Junior running back Saquon Barkley has been the focal point of the Penn State offense and has established himself as one of the best running backs in CFB this season. Barkley has over 500 yards of total offense, five total touchdowns and has led the Lions to a 3-0 record in which their offense has averaged 47 points per game. Barkley himself has averaged over 100 yards per game with an over eight yards-per-carry average. Having only played one conference game has hurt Barkley’s case thus far, and he will need to perform exceptionally well against opponents like Michigan and Ohio State later in the season to have a real chance to take home the Heisman hardware at the end of the season.

Dark Horses

Photo courtesy of Bruins Nation

UCLA junior quarterback Josh Rosen was the number one ranked CFB quarterback recruit in 2015 and is finally starting to live up to that reputation this season. After leading the Bruins to the greatest comeback in CFB history, a 34-point deficit to Texas A&M Sept. 3, Rosen has put his name on the Heisman shortlist. His over 1,200 yards and 13 touchdowns are evidence as well. His team’s recent close loss to unranked Memphis, however, hinders his case and drops UCLA to 2-1 this season. The team will need to have a good finish to the year to legitimize his bid for the trophy.

Oklahoma State senior quarterback Mason Rudolph has led the Cowboys to its first AP Top-10 ranking since 2011. The Cowboys have had a hot 3-0 start, and their offense has scored an average of 54 points per game due in large part to Rudolph’s play. The quarterback has over 1,100 yards and 11 touchdowns in these first three games.

The entirety of LSU’s offense revolves around getting the football down the field in the arms of human locomotive Derrius Guice. The junior running back entered the CFB scene last season as his colleague and then-LSU work horse running back Leonard Fournette went down with multiple injuries. Guice has exactly 300 yards rushing and four touchdowns through three games, but after an embarrassing loss to Mississippi State on Saturday, dropping the Tigers to 2-1 so far this season, Guice has a steep uphill battle to climb to be a Heisman finalist.