No. 1 Indiana has not won the College Football Playoff championship. Yet.
That hasn't stopped a preemptive question that bubbled up amid a 56-22 blowout against No. 5 Oregon in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Friday. Indiana's 56 points was the second highest total scored in Peach Bowl history. The 2019 LSU Tigers are the only team to top that mark, racking up 63 in a win over Oklahoma.
If the Hoosiers beat No. 10 Miami in the CFP championship game on Jan. 19 and finish 16-0, then would that possibly make them the best team of the College Football Playoff era?
Four teams went 15-0 in the four-team CFP era, a list that includes Clemson (2018), LSU (2019), Georgia (2021) and Michigan (2023). Alabama (2020) finished 13-0 during a COVID-19 shortened season. Of those teams, LSU generally tops the list in the best-team arguments.
Would Indiana challenge that status with one more victory? Let's get into the debate.
2025 Indiana vs. 2019 LSU
Here is a look at the tale of the tape between Indiana in 2025 and LSU in 2019
| LSU | CATEGORY | INDIANA |
| 15-0 | RECORD | 15-0 |
| 48.4 | PPG | 42.6 |
| 21.9 | PPG ALLOWED | 11.1 |
| 4 | ALL-AMERICANS | 4 |
LSU 2019 schedule
LSU beat seven top-10 teams in 2019 - an incredible run under coach Ed Orgeron. That included an early-season shootout at Texas. The season peaked with a No. 1-vs.-No. 2 showdown against No. 2 Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium that was one of greatest collections of future NFL talent of all time.
The closest call was a 23-20 victory against Auburn on Oct. 26, but LSU stormed through the College Football Playoff with a pair of victories against No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 3 Clemson by an average of 26 points per game.
| GAME | OPPONENT | SCORE |
| Aug. 31 | vs. Georgia Southern | W 55-3 |
| Sept. 7 | at No. 9 Texas | W 45-38 |
| Sept. 14 | vs. Northwestern State | W 65-14 |
| Sept. 21 | at Vanderbilt | W 66-38 |
| Oct. 5 | vs. Utah State | W 42-6 |
| Oct. 12 | vs. No. 7 Florida | W 42-28 |
| Oct. 19 | at Mississippi State | W 36-13 |
| Oct. 26 | vs. No. 9 Auburn | W 23-20 |
| Nov. 9 | at No. 2 Alabama | W 46-41 |
| Nov. 16 | at Ole Miss | W 58-37 |
| Nov. 23 | vs. Arkansas | W 56-20 |
| Nov. 30 | vs. Texas A&M | W 50-7 |
| Dec. 7 | vs. No. 4 Georgia | W 37-10 |
| Dec. 28 | vs. No. 4 Oklahoma | W 63-28 |
| Jan. 13 | vs. No. 3 Clemson | W 42-25 |
Indiana 2025 schedule
The Hoosiers burned through a soft non-conference schedule, but then they hammered No. 9 Illinois, which was the precursor to a schedule that now includes five victories against top-10 teams. That included a win at Autzen Stadium against No. 3 Oregon on Oct. 11. Mendoza led dramatic victories against Iowa and Penn State on the road, and the Big Ten championship game — a 13-10 victory against No. 2 Ohio State. Indiana has punctuated that with two CFP blowouts by an average of 34.5 points per game.
| GAME | OPPONENT | SCORE |
| Aug. 30 | vs. Old Dominion | W 27-14 |
| Sept. 6 | vs. Kennesaw State | W 56-9 |
| Sept. 12 | vs. Indiana State | W 73-0 |
| Sept. 20 | vs. No. 9 Illinois | W 63-10 |
| Sept. 27 | at Iowa | W 20-15 |
| Oct. 11 | at No. 3 Oregon | W 30-20 |
| Oct. 18 | vs. Michigan State | W 38-23 |
| Oct. 25 | vs. UCLA | W 56-6 |
| Nov. 1 | at Maryland | W 55-10 |
| Nov. 8 | at Penn State | W 27-24 |
| Nov. 15 | vs. Wisconsin | W 31-7 |
| Nov. 28 | at Purdue | W 56-3 |
| Dec. 6 | vs. No. 1 Ohio State | W 13-10 |
| Jan. 1 | vs. No. 9 Alabama | W 38-3 |
| Jan. 9 | vs. No. 5 Oregon | W 56-22 |
| Jan. 19 | vs. No. 10 Miami | - |
2019 LSU key players
Burrow won the Heisman Trophy. He had 5,671 passing yards, 60 TDs and six interceptions in a season that is among the best individual seasons in college football history. He threw to the tandem of Ja'Marr Chase (1,780 yards, 20 TDs) and Justin Jefferson (1,540 yards, 18 TDs). All three are star players in the NFL now. Clyde Edwards-Helaire rushed for 1,414 yards and 16 TDs. It's considered one of the greatest offenses of all time with offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger and passing game coordinator Joe Brady, now with the Buffalo Bills. The defense featured linebackers Jacob Phillips and Patrick Queen and safety Grant Delpit under defensive coordinator Dave Aranda, now the head coach at Baylor.
2025 Indiana key players
Mendoza, who now has 3,349 passing yards, 41 TDs and six interceptions, won the Heisman Trophy and continues to be a mistake-free player for the Hoosiers. The receiving corps is led by Elijah Sarratt (802 yards, 15 TDs), Omar Cooper Jr. (866 yards, 13 TDs) and Charlie Becker (614 yards, 4 TDs), and the rushing attack entered the Peach Bowl averaging 214.8 rushing yards per game with Roman Hemby (1,060 yards, 7 TDs) and Kaelon Black (961 yards, 10 TDs). All-American tackle Carter Smith and Notre Dame transfer center Pat Coogan are part of a dominant offensive line. Linebacker Aiden Fisher and cornerback D'Angelo Ponds – who opened the Peach Bowl with an interception return for a touchdown – are part of a nasty defense that limited Ohio State to 10 points. The coaching staff features up-and-comers in co-offensive coordinators Mike Shanahan and Chandler Whitmer and defensive coordinator Bryant Haines.
Indiana 2025 vs. LSU 2019: Which team is better?
Perhaps this is the only team that could slow Cignetti and the Hoosiers' roll. The comparisons between Burrow and Mendoza are out in full force now. The Indiana quarterback is the strong favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Indiana's defense would face a challenge against LSU – which averaged 401.6 passing yards per game. The Hoosiers, however, have an unrelenting running game and defense around Mendoza, which would make for a hell of a stylistic fight. In a hypothetical game, Indiana would likely be the underdog – and they have to win the national championship first before being able to be placed in this all-time argument. It would be hard not to pick LSU here – but that would be picking against Cignetti. Here's the irony: AllSportsPeople did a hypothetical all-time playoff with the best teams of the 21st century, and 2019 LSU wasn't the champion. Who was? The 2001 Miami Hurricanes.
Almost a quarter-century later, Indiana can win the real-life game against Miami on Jan. 19. We'll pick up this debate afterward.