Paul Finebaum offers Indiana mea culpa after Hoosiers win national championship
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Indiana has completed one of the most impressive seasons in college football history, going 16-0 to win the national championship. The Hoosiers, though, faced plenty of critics. One of IU’s most prominent critics is owning up to the fact that he got it wrong about Curt Cignetti and his team.
Paul Finebaum took time on his show recently to acknowledge he was wrong about Indiana.
“There can be debate on whether Indiana had the best season in college football history, but there can be no debate that it is the greatest story in the history of the game,” Finebaum said. “And what made it even more amazing is how people misunderstood what Curt Cignetti was doing in Bloomington. Let me assure you, nobody was more incorrect in understanding that process than me.
“Almost everything I said throughout the season about him and about Indiana was wrong, and it was an epic failure on my part. There was no question Indiana was the best team, and yes, the Big Ten is the best conference in the country. We congratulate Coach Cignetti, Indiana, and the Big Ten for an extraordinary run.”
Finebaum made headlines in October when he called Indiana’s extension of Cignetti a “terrible move.” He also doubted the No. 1-seeded Hoosiers as College Football Playoff favorites, even though they were 13-0 and the only undefeated team. In the CFP, IU defeated Alabama, Oregon and Miami to win the program’s first national championship.
A mea culpa with a side of crow about the Hoosiers this season… pic.twitter.com/MCC58o4vbf
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) January 21, 2026
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
