Indiana Climbs to No. 4 — and 10 First-Place Votes Send an Even Bigger Message
Indiana football moved another step closer to the top of the national rankings Sunday, climbing to No. 4 in the Week 3 US LBM Coaches Poll.
But the number beside Indiana’s name is only part of the story.
The defending national champions received 10 first-place votes and 1,611 points. Only No. 1 Texas, with 42 first-place votes, and No. 2 Georgia, with 15, received more votes for the top spot. No. 3 Notre Dame received four first-place votes.
That is a significant statement about how Indiana is now viewed nationally. The Hoosiers are not simply being treated as a Top-5 team. Ten coaches voted Indiana as the best team in college football.
Indiana Is Now the Big Ten’s Highest-Ranked Team
The movement also puts Indiana at the top of the Big Ten in the Coaches Poll.
Ohio State, previously ranked No. 1, dropped to No. 6 after its 24-23 loss to Texas. Oregon suffered the week’s largest fall, tumbling 12 positions from No. 6 to No. 18 after losing to Oklahoma State.
That leaves Indiana as the conference’s highest-ranked team, followed by Ohio State at No. 6, USC at No. 11, Penn State at No. 15, Oregon at No. 18, Michigan at No. 19, Iowa at No. 20 and Washington at No. 24.
The Top Five
The Week 3 Coaches Poll begins with Texas at No. 1, Georgia at No. 2, Notre Dame at No. 3, Indiana at No. 4 and Miami at No. 5.
Indiana moved up one position from No. 5 while improving to 2-0. The Hoosiers’ 10 first-place votes are especially notable because they more than double Notre Dame’s total despite the Irish holding the No. 3 position in the overall poll.
Complete US LBM Coaches Poll — September 13, 2026
First-place votes are shown in parentheses.
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas (42) | 2-0 | 1,804 | 3 |
| 2 | Georgia (15) | 2-0 | 1,732 | 2 |
| 3 | Notre Dame (4) | 2-0 | 1,639 | 4 |
| 4 | Indiana (10) | 2-0 | 1,611 | 5 |
| 5 | Miami (2) | 2-0 | 1,549 | 7 |
| 6 | Ohio State | 1-1 | 1,480 | 1 |
| 7 | LSU (1) | 2-0 | 1,405 | 8 |
| 8 | Texas A&M | 2-0 | 1,311 | 9 |
| 9 | Ole Miss | 2-0 | 1,228 | 11 |
| 10 | Alabama | 2-0 | 1,206 | 12 |
| 11 | USC | 3-0 | 1,023 | 14 |
| 12 | Texas Tech | 2-0 | 977 | 13 |
| 13 | BYU | 2-0 | 975 | 15 |
| 14 | Tennessee | 2-0 | 679 | 18 |
| 15 | Penn State | 2-0 | 676 | 16 |
| 16 | SMU | 2-0 | 605 | 17 |
| 17 | Utah | 2-0 | 590 | 20 |
| 18 | Oregon | 1-1 | 564 | 6 |
| 19 | Michigan | 2-0 | 426 | 24 |
| 20 | Iowa | 2-0 | 423 | 21 |
| 21 | Oklahoma | 1-1 | 395 | 10 |
| 22 | Missouri | 2-0 | 340 | 23 |
| 23 | Houston | 2-0 | 290 | 22 |
| 24 | Washington | 2-0 | 268 | 19 |
| 25 | Virginia | 2-0 | 249 | 25 |
Coach Griff’s Take
Rankings in September do not win championships, and Curt Cignetti will be the first person to remind his team of that. But this poll tells us something important about where Indiana’s program now stands.
There is no longer a novelty factor attached to Indiana football. There is no waiting to see whether last season was real. The Hoosiers are the defending national champions, they are ranked fourth in the country, and 10 coaches believe they should be ranked first.
That changes the standard.
Indiana is no longer trying to convince the country it belongs in the national championship conversation. The expectation now is to stay there.
Fast. Physical. Relentless.
Poll data sourced from the Week 3 US LBM Coaches Poll as reported by CBS Sports on September 13, 2026.
