It’s the battle between football romantics and realists, and right in the middle is Indiana Hoosiers. In college football, a world of preconceived notions thrives, and as a result, teams are failing to get the respect they deserve. Famous analysts like Cowherd calls it as he sees it. After all, it’s free speech gents. You can hop on and off the hype train anytime you like.

Tossing the Hoosiers off as nothing more than a “nice story.” To him, Curt Cignetti and the Indiana squad look like a Cinderella team running on borrowed time. But Joel Klatt, while sitting in Ohio State’s facility, appeared on The Herd with Colin Cowherd and voiced his opinions. Cowherd kicked off the conversation with a dismissive tone, stating he’s got a radar for “frauds,” and Indiana just happens to light it up. Joking that Indiana hasn’t faced any competition with referring to their next matchup as “Panera Bread.” They play Michigan next, which he labeled as “The worst Michigan of the decade”. Amidst all this, Curt Cignetti’s Hoosiers are racking up points and dominating with resilience. That defies the underdog label Cowherd is so quick to pin on them.

Klatt came in for the rescue and dashed out at his critics with stats. Indiana is putting up a 9-0 record and an average winning margin of 32 points—numbers that could make any Big Ten fan look twice. Comparing the Hoosier’s current resume with last year’s giants Georgia and Michigan. Klatt argued that Indiana looks better than those teams were at this point in the previous season. It’s a conversation of tougher opponents faced and these past top teams had similar average wins till this time of year as well. Which Indiana and Curt Cignetti are so discredited for. It’s not their fault they are the best where they are.

“They saying that they’re freaking good man.” He emphasized the weight Indiana holds in the coaching community. Indiana’s reputation isn’t just being inflated by fans; it’s being built by rival coaches who see the team as a genuine powerhouse. Coaches across the league are discussing Indiana’s formidable offense, driven by the force of nature Curt Cignetti.

Why the disrespect towards Curt Cignetti and Indiana Hoosiers though?

Curt Cignetti and Hoosiers are 9-0 and one of just five undefeated teams ranked in the top 25 in both the AP and Coaches Polls, still not seen as “legit” by some. Perhaps no team has as legitimate of gripe as Indiana Hoosiers. The only undefeated team in either the Big 10 or SEC is Oregon, and they are no. 1. While the red and whites are in the eight. But the most pertinent question is why the teams with even two losses are ranked higher than Indiana.

The answer is something subjective called Strength of the Schedule, which is at the top of the list of justifications. This could have been well dispelled by beating Michigan, but oh well, never mind Cowherd. But surely if they beat Ohio State later. Klatt’s closing argument was simple something similar too. Indiana deserves the same credibility that we’d grant to any 9-0 team with playoff ambitions.

As Cignetti’s squad prepares for Michigan, it might be wise to keep the “Panera Bread” jokes on hold—just in case they’re serving Cowherd’s words right back to him.