ESPN’s Paul Finebaum spent most of the 2025 college football season talking down to Indiana football and Curt Cignetti. On Wednesday, Jan. 21, Finebaum released a video less than a minute-long admitting, ‘Almost everything I said throughout the season about him and about Indiana was wrong.’
The Hoosiers capped off a historic 16-0 season with a 27-21 win over Miami in the College Football Playoff national championship on Monday, Jan. 19.
Just last week, Finebaum called Indiana ‘a cute story.’ Now, he says, ‘It is the greatest story in the history of the game.’
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Indiana fans, and college football fans in general, have taken the SEC Network host to task over the past few weeks for his reluctance to give credit to Cignetti and Indiana and get beyond his obvious brand bias.
On Wednesday, Jan. 21., Finebaum offered ‘A mea culpa with a side of crow about the Hoosiers this season…’
“There can be debate on whether Indiana had the best season in college football history, but there can be no debate: It is the greatest story in the history of the game,’ Finebaum said. ‘And what made it even more amazing is how people misunderstood what Curt Cignetti was doing in Bloomington. Let me assure you, nobody was more incorrect in understanding that process than me. Almost everything I said throughout the season about him and about Indiana was wrong. And it was an epic failure on my part. There was no question Indiana was the best team, and yes, the Big Ten is the best conference in the country. We congratulate Curt Cignetti, Indiana and the Big Ten for an extraordinary run.”
Longtime Indiana radio broadcaster Don Fischer called out Finebaum during Indiana’s 38-3 Rose Bowl win over Alabama following the touchdown that gave IU a 31-3 lead. ‘What are you thinking now, Paul Finebaum?’
In October, Finebaum took issue with Indiana giving Cignetti a second contract extension as the IU administration backed their man in attempts to stave off coach-needy programs like Penn State.
‘I’m still not convinced that Curt Cignetti is one of the top coaches in America,’ Finebaum said then, saying Indiana was wrong to give its coach another extension.
Josh Pate apologizes to Indiana football, too
Finebaum wasn’t the only ESPN personality to be wrong about the Hoosiers — a program that began this season with more all-time losses than any in FBS history. Save for Indiana resident Pat McAfee, ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’ crew and Josh Pate consistently picked against the Hoosiers this season. Pate released a video Tuesday, Jan. 20, listing the times he was wrong about Indiana, while wearing a clown nose.
‘I picked against them four times. I went 0-4. They went 4-0 in those games en route to going 16-0. That makes them national champions, and it makes me a broken, confused man with nothing to console him but a cold microphone. Congratulations to Curt Cignetti. Congratulations to Indiana and that entire staff. I have been dumped on as painfully and repeatedly as I have ever been dunked on by anyone this side of sixth-grade gym class, and I hate that this is happening to me, but I will learn from it. You guys won, and I’m here left to pick up the pieces.’