Week 9 of College Football sure delivered on its promise. Certain teams got found out (looking at you, LSU!) while others continued ruffling some feathers on and off the gridiron. As the action on Saturday concluded and people made sense of what transpired, one expert still swam upstream and refrained from believing the hype around the biggest underdog story in the B1G this year, Curt Cignetti’s Indiana Hoosiers, through his latest rankings.

Indy(8-0) continued their dreamy run as they eased past Washington(4-4) at The Rock, 31-17. Cignetti’s offense ran for 194 yards on the ground, and the physicality proved to be too much for the Huskies. But credit is hard to come by when you are a small, unassuming program rubbing shoulders with the big boys. As CBS football analyst Bryant “BMac” McFadden unveiled his own Top 12 rankings in the aftermath of Week 9, he chose to leave Indiana off his shortlist.

McFadden instead opted to give the edge to Iowa State (7-0), who were on a bye this weekend. The two-time Super Bowl champ said, “[At no. 12] I have Iowa State. I have concerns with the Cyclones, but they are undefeated. They’ve been finding ways to win, and I love their quarterback as well“. He then stated how “the biggest question marks” in his rankings exist over the Cyclones. So, although Indy didn’t make the cut, they are on the periphery for later iterations of these rankings. BMac deserves credit for not allowing any recency bias to creep into his list and saving a spot for a team that didn’t play in the latest round of games. But doing so at the expense of Indy does feel harsh on the Hoosiers.

Elsewhere, the big winners of the weekend, Texas A&M, naturally got a deserved boost from BMac on the back of their heroic 2nd half-comeback win at home against LSU. HC Mike Elko’s inspired substitution at quarterback in the 3rd quarter quickly reversed the tide at Kyle Field. Backup Marcel Reed ran for a TD on his very first play and didn’t look back from there. He finished with 3 rushing TDs and ended LSU’s 104-game winning streak when leading by double digits at halftime. The Aggies are now sat atop the SEC and remain unbeaten in conference play. Albeit there may be a quarterback controversy to deal with.

As reflected in McFadden’s rankings, the AP Poll should see A&M make a leap. But as fans in Texas rejoice, those in Indiana still seek vindication. Not only in the form of a playoff berth for their team, but some individual honors for their head coach.

Race for the Paul “Bear” Bryant Trophy led by two standouts

Indiana’s run this season under Curt Cignetti is nothing short of a fairy tale. In his very first year as HC, he has turned the fortunes of the program. Cignetti took over the team off the back of them, having 3 back to back losing seasons and a measly 3 wins all year in 2023. The team now sits atop the B1G and is at the outset of making the CFP.

Cignetti has brought about wholesale systemic changes to an Indiana program with the most losses in the history of D1 college football. Yes, you read that correctly. So why is he not the consensus leading Coach Of The Year candidate?

Well, Deion Sanders is pulling no mean feat either, up in Colorado. His achievements so far this season also deserve the coveted Paul “Bear” Bryant trophy just as much as Cignetti. As both teams continue capturing the imagination of the country, the race for coach of the year is one of many underlying stories around the CFB landscape. As for the rankings, let’s see if the AP agrees with the expert’s opinion.