Ex-college football coach says Rutgers is next after Indiana’s CFP breakthrough
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Indiana football captured the school’s first national championship earlier this week. The Hoosiers’ stunning rise has sparked questions about which program could be next.
Urban Meyer, who led Florida and Ohio State to national championships, made his choice. The college football studio analyst believes Rutgers could be the next program to take the sport by storm and says the Scarlet Knights are best positioned to become the “new Indiana.”
“Give me three programs that could be the next Indiana, meaning teams that are used to losing, have really bad records, and somehow rise from the ashes and become national champions,” Meyer said. “3 and Out” A podcast that Meyer co-hosts with Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram II and Rob Stone.
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Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) reacts with the trophy after the College Football Playoff National Championship game at Hard Rock Stadium on January 19, 2026 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
The Hoosiers’ rise to dominance from college football’s most losing schedule began last season when Curt Cignetti arrived in Bloomington and led Indiana to its first playoff appearance.
Indiana lost to last year’s national champion runner-up Notre Dame in the first round. But the last edition of the play-offs was a very different story. Indiana defeated Alabama in the Rose Bowl before soundly defeating Oregon in the semifinals.
The Hoosiers swept Miami in last Monday’s championship game to post a 16-0 record and capture the national championship trophy.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights football helmets stand on the field during warm-ups before the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium on October 7, 2023 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Jeff Hanisch/USA TODAY Sports)
Meyer worked with Rutgers coach Greg Schiano at Ohio State, where the current Rutgers head coach served as the Buckeyes’ defensive coordinator for three seasons. In addition to the Scarlet Knights, Meyer named Rice and Wake Forest as programs that can go from the worst teams to the best.
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“I have no idea about Rice, I have no idea about Wake, but I’m going to throw them out there because if Indiana can do it, so can they,” Meyer added. “But I’m going to say Rutgers because Greg Schiano, who I’m biased against, is a great friend and a great football coach — he had him ranked in the top five in the country at one point (in 2006).”
Urban Meyer is on the sideline before the semifinal game of the 2025 Peach Bowl and College Football Playoff between the Oregon Ducks and Indiana Hoosiers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 9, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Dale Zanine/Imagn Images)
Rutgers got off to a 9-0 start to the 2006 season and rose to No. 7 in the AP Top 25. The Scarlet Knights finished the season in 12th place after winning the Texas Bowl.
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Rutgers finished its senior season with a 5-7 record. The school’s 708 defeats currently rank third on college football’s all-time list. Despite its recent success, Indiana still sits atop college football’s all-time defeats list. Rutgers is scheduled to play Indiana in 2026.
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” he said on Wednesday’s edition of the Triple Option podcast.
