Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day may have what it takes to run a sustainable program in the Big Ten over the next several years. Meanwhile, the most recent CFP champions, the Indiana Hoosiers, and their fearless leader, Curt Cignetti, may not.
That's the sentiment Cleveland.com's Stephen Means heavily implied, anyway, while discussing the national championship picture moving forward. Means labeled the Hoosiers' unlikely ascension as a potential "lightning in a bottle" situation.
“I think it is fair to say, ‘Great job (Curt) Cignetti. What you have done over the last two years we have never seen anything like that. That is special. We might never see anything like that again,'" Means prefaced before saying, "But because of that, maybe it’s lightning in a bottle versus consistently. Every single year, Ryan Day has been in the national championship conversation.”
Means' Buckeye Talk co-host, Cleveland.com's Stefan Krajisnik, added, "They’re using their foundation while now adapting to the new world."
Ohio State is ahead of Indiana in recruiting, but will coaching make that moot?
While OSU ranked ahead in the 2026 transfer portal class rankings, which still have some sorting with the portal closed but many still finding homes, the Hoosiers are No. 7, only four spots behind the Buckeyes. It's the high school rankings, where IU is No. 34, while OSU is sitting at No. 5 in the current cycle, that tell a different story.
With that said, those don't mean much in the NIL/rev-share era, unless you have an immediate spot for a freshman to slot into, like Jeremiah Smith in 2024, anyway.
Indiana is clearly okay operating with a talent deficit, but making up for it with a positive culture. Ohio State can buy all the talent in the world, and you bet your top dollar that they absolutely always will, but that's only one half of the equation.
Those pesky on-field results are the other. There's obviously no need to worry about that, though, right?
Well, if you have faith in Arthur Smith to run the offense, then no. If you're in the majority and are worried?
No comment.