Indiana rolled into the national title as an undefeated juggernaut. Now the Hoosiers have to go win one in the Pacific Northwest against a Washington team that's finally figured out its offense.
Bush’s Picks
IUWASH
IUWASH
OverUnder
Best BetIndiana
Indiana walks in as the far more proven program — a defending national champion that reloaded through the portal rather than rebuilt. Washington's offense took a real step forward, but Williams' offseason transfer saga adds a layer of uncertainty that Indiana simply doesn't carry into this game. Back the Hoosiers to win, even on the road.
Indiana
+Defending national champion, 16-0 in 2025
+Cignetti locked up long-term with massive extension
+Landed No. 8 transfer class nationally
−Replacing Heisman winner with unproven transfer QB
−Backup QB also left via portal, thin depth
−Target on their back after a perfect season
Washington
+9-4 in 2025, offense jumped to 17th nationally
+Williams returns after 3,000+ yards, 25 TDs in 2025
+Fisch enters year two with real continuity
−Williams' portal flirtation was a real locker-room distraction
−Analysts see Big Ten title as out of reach this year
−Significant program-wide talent gap vs. Indiana
Indiana isn't sneaking up on anybody in 2026. After going 16-0 and beating Miami for the national championship, Curt Cignetti got paid — an 8-year, $13.2M-per-year extension — and the Hoosiers reloaded with the No. 8 transfer class in the country. The biggest name is new starting QB Josh Hoover, who threw for 3,472 yards at TCU and now inherits the job from Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza. Washington, meanwhile, spent its offseason in chaos before landing right back where it started.
Jedd Fisch's Huskies won 9 games and closed out 2025 with a 38-10 LA Bowl win over Boise State, a season that saw the offense jump from 104th to 17th nationally in scoring. QB Demond Williams Jr. was a huge part of that — over 3,000 passing yards, 25 TDs, and 611 yards on the ground. He was set to leave, took a $4M deal to stay, then bolted to the portal anyway amid reported $6M offers from LSU, Alabama, Miami and Oregon before reversing course again. It's the kind of storyline that either galvanizes a locker room or lingers all season.
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IU Indiana
WASH Washington
Oddsmakers see the gap here. Indiana's preseason win total sits at 10.5, third-highest in the country behind only Notre Dame and Texas Tech. Washington's is 7.5, with most projections pegging the Huskies as a mid-pack Big Ten team rather than a contender. That's the backdrop for a Friday night trip to Seattle that could look very different depending on how Hoover's first year at the controls is going by mid-November.
Indiana Hoosiers
Nov 13?vs USC—
Oct 30?vs Minnesota—
Oct 16?vs Ohio State—
Oct 9?@ Nebraska—
Oct 3?@ Rutgers—
Sep 25?vs Northwestern—
Sep 19?vs Western Kentucky—
Sep 12?vs Howard—
Sep 5?vs North Texas—
Washington Huskies
Nov 13?@ Michigan State—
Nov 6?vs Penn State—
Oct 30?@ Nebraska—
Oct 16?@ Purdue—
Oct 9?vs Iowa—
Oct 2?@ USC—
Sep 25?vs Minnesota—
Sep 19?vs Eastern Washington—
Sep 12?vs Utah State—
Sep 6?vs Washington State—
Recent form.
The obvious question mark for Indiana is continuity at quarterback. Mendoza's brother Alberto also left via the portal, so there's no fallback plan if Hoover needs time to adjust to a new system. Repeating a 16-0 season is nearly impossible on its own merits — every reigning champ gets everyone's best shot, and this is a road game deep into Big Ten play where Washington will have had all season to figure out its identity.
Indiana Hoosiers
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Washington Huskies
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
For Washington, the path to relevance runs through Williams staying focused after an offseason that could've ended with him elsewhere entirely. If the QB drama is truly behind them, an offense that already took a real step forward last year has a proven quarterback and a full season of continuity — exactly what Indiana's group is missing. This is as fair a test as either program gets: a genuine Big Ten heavyweight against a team trying to prove last year's breakout wasn't a mirage.
