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It was less than nine full months ago that Indiana outlasted Miami, clinching a 16-0 season and a national championship in football.
That means that full-term babies across the Hoosier State with the names Fernando or Curt, who were conceived that memorable night, aren't even born yet.
Yet, it has already been long enough for plenty of the college football world to lose its respect for Indiana.
In a world where games matter more than ever, Indiana is getting treated like the team the majority of history says it is, not the team that has now won 27 of its last 29 games.
Don't believe me?
Then go look at the latest edition of the AP Poll.
Indiana Falls in Rankings Despite Routing Rutgers
Saturday night's contest at Rutgers was a no contest.
Indiana jumped out to a 37-0 lead midway through the fourth quarter, before the dogs were called off and Rutgers finally got on the board.
By the end of the night, a 47-15 victory moved Indiana to 5-0 on the year, but a day later, it fell in the AP Poll.
BREAKING: College Football AP Poll🚨https://t.co/ZeYnSxjUiI pic.twitter.com/3wEByTQqqs
— On3 (@On3) October 4, 2026Alabama, who routed Mississippi State on the road, moved up from No. 7 to No. 6 this week, as Indiana fell from No. 6 to No. 7.
Yes, Alabama was impressive in the road win, but has it been better than Indiana to date?
That was Alabama's first ranked victory of the season, but was enough for AP voter Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News to put Alabama at No. 3 this week.
The same voter also ranked Indiana 12th, behind teams like Utah, BYU, Ole Miss, Oregon, and LSU.
Now, switching where Indiana and Alabama were on Wilner's ballot wouldn't be enough to flip the two at No. 6 and No. 7 in the rankings, but it'd do a lot of the work in the points.
Big Ten Disrespect in AP Poll
Indiana isn't the only Big Ten team that didn't get the love it deserves this week in the AP Poll.
Undefeated Nebraska still has managed to crack the top 25, coming in with the 31st most voting points this week.
Has a 5-0 SEC team ever suffered the same kind of ratings disrespect?
Wisconsin moved to 4-1 on the year, with its one loss being against a national championship-contending Notre Dame team. Yet the Badgers still finished outside the top 25, at No. 28 in the poll.
Northwestern, which Indiana was criticized for struggling against, routed Penn State this past week to reach 3-1. The Wildcats ranked 30th in the vote.
I promise you that wouldn't be the case if there were an SEC logo on the back of any of Nebraska's, Wisconsin's, or Northwestern's helmets instead of the Big Ten one that is actually there.
Nick Shepkowski's Quick Thought
The good news in all of this is that the AP Poll doesn't technically matter anymore.
Sure, it's great for TV outlets to put numbers next to team names in order to better pitch matchups, but the ranking themselves technically carry zero weight.
That's supposed to be reserved for the College Football Playoff committee, which isn't exactly a perfect science, either, but these ratings are all we have until November.
If I had to guess, Indiana is rated here not just because of who it has played this year, but how Curt Cignetti has been open about the Hoosiers schedule since arriving.
He hides nothing in regard to scheduling what are essentially preseason games, something that is well within his right and that has benefited Indiana his first two seasons in charge.
That clearly rubs the old guard the wrong way, though, and this is the only way they have to pay him back for it.
Ultimately, these rankings don't really matter in the big picture of things. The good news for Indiana is that it everything it has as a goal is still right in front of it - regardless of the number next to its name in the weekly polls.
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