Kirk Herbstreit picks Indiana as his current national championship favorite

Kirk Herbstreit is all in on Indiana to win the national championship this season. The Hoosiers are one of four teams remaining in the College Football Playoff, set to face Oregon on Friday with a trip to the title game on the line.

The Ducks are a team that Indiana has already beaten this year, and that should give them confidence as they enter the matchup as a 3.5-point favorite according to BetMGM. The Hoosiers also have the best odds of any of the four remaining teams to win the championship at +130.

Indiana has never won a national championship in football, but Herbstreit is taking them to reach that milestone this year. He gave his endorsement of them on the latest episode of his podcast, Nonstop, which is co-hosted with Joey Galloway.

“If Indiana keeps playing the way they are playing, I would probably give them the nod right now,” Herbstreit said. “Can they maintain this edge? I would think with their head coach coaching the way he does. I would give Indiana probably the edge there.”

This is only the second season at the helm for Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti. After leading them to their first College Football Playoff appearance last year, he followed it up with an even better Year 2. Noww the only thing left to check off on the list is winning the title game.

The Hoosiers finished the regular season unbeaten and broke the program record for wins, then also won their first Big Ten Championship since 1967. They are led by quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who became the first Heisman Trophy winner in school history this season. He has thrown for 3,172 yards and leads the FBS with 36 touchdowns passes to only six interceptions.

Indiana was dominant in a quarterfinal matchup against Alabama in the Rose Bowl, winning that game 38-3. It truly does seem to be setting up for a special season in Bloomington, and Herbstreit’s pick has as good a chance of any as coming true.

They’ll have to beat an Oregon team that will surely be hungry to avenge the loss from earlier this season to get there, but the odds are in their favor. Kickoff for the Peach Bowl between the Hoosiers and Ducks is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.