With the advent of the 12-team playoff, things were looking rather straightforward. More room in the house means less controversy about who’s left at the door, right? That’s not quite how things have turned out. As CFB enters its penultimate weekend, the playoff picture is still a blur. However, one team’s disposition was the most polarizing.

The Indiana Hoosiers (10-0) are a litmus test for college football fandom. You either love their season or despise what it has brought about. While Curt Cignetti’s team remains the best underdog story this year, the discourse has not been very welcoming, especially from those of a southeastern persuasion. With a couple of SEC teams on the outset of the committee’s top 12 based on their record, the focus has quickly shifted to strength of schedule. SEC schools believe the difficulty of traversing their conference counts for more than just winning games against lowly teams. Even as they stand unbeaten, one football savant believes trouble is ensuing for Indiana.

Adam Breneman took to his Instagram to shed light on this dark cloud forming over Bloomington. “If Indiana beats Ohio State this weekend, most of America will be happy. But if Indiana loses, there will be some dark forces aligning from the SEC to force them out of the playoff conversation. We all know what’s going to happen. In fact, it’s already happening”. “There’s very little respect nationally for what Indiana has and what they could accomplish this season”, he said.

Where are these forces instigating from within the SEC? Well, let’s take you through the SEC table. The Texas Longhorns are comfortably placed at a record of 9-1. However, it’s all messy from there on. We have five teams with an overall record of 8-2. They are Georgia Bulldogs, Texas A&M, Alabama Crimson Tide, Tennessee Volunteers and Ole Miss Rebels. Now, the Hoosiers can call upon their undefeated record when any two-loss team want to make a case against them.

However, the strength-of-schedule truthers will be pushing to have the Hoosiers out of the CFP the moment their record has a blemish. Their reasoning is simple. The Bulldogs have played the toughest schedule in the country. They have already gone against five Top 25 teams. On the other hand, Indiana has only Ohio State to show for it, and if they go on to lose that game, Curt Cignetti may be in trouble in his first season in Bloomington.

Adam Breneman makes a sensational claim about Indiana’s prospects

After laying out the roadblocks Indiana is facing, Adam Breneman believes the discourse is hollow. As the media spin a narrative pertaining to the SEC, self-proclaimed “Big 10 guy” Breneman is not concerned. He seeks to ease the fear-mongering that has inadvertently kept Indiana fans on edge.

“Indiana has done what they had to do on the field, which is win no matter who they play. History tells us a one loss Indiana will make the playoff. Since the 4-team playoff began, there have been 10 one-loss Power 5 teams. In every single case, they all finished 7th or better in the committee’s rankings. So don’t listen to the SEC noise, Indiana fans. Sit back and relax, because Indiana is in the college football playoff”, clams Breneman. A bold but fair evaluation of the situation.

Well, the best way for Curt Cignetti to thwart this conversation entirely is easy to preach but difficult to do- beat Ohio State. If the Hoosiers can pull off an upset in Columbus, the national lens will view them from a very different perspective. Easier said than done. However, with how their season has gone, it would be disingenuous to put anything past Indiana at this point. A Big Noon Kickoff for the ages beckons.