Indiana running back Roman Hemby (1) scores a touchdown past Maryland defensive back Jalen Huskey (22) during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, in College Park, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Indiana is ranked No. 2 in the country, and you know the late coach Bob Knight would be proud of what the Hoosiers are doing this season.

Hang on … being told this is the Indiana football team, not the traditional basketball powerhouse.

What the what?!?

How on earth is Indiana, which has been terrible in football for pretty much all of eternity, currently the second-best team in the nation?

Welcome to the new era of college football, where the transfer portal and NIL have drastically changed the entire landscape.

To be honest, I hate this new era. It’s become a professional sport, and awful in so many ways because the college football I loved growing up is now gone.

But even for this old curmudgeon, I cannot deny the fact that college football has become way, way more interesting than ever before.

There’s so much more parity nowadays because everybody can pay big bucks for players, plus the players can go anywhere they want at just about any time.

Before, it was just the behemoths of the sport that could fork over tons of money and resources. But now, with a more even playing field, it allows for the likes of an Indiana to come out of nowhere and become a national power.

Vanderbilt, No. 16 in initial the College Football Playoff rankings, is another example. Or you can look at Texas Tech, which apparently has loads of money to spend on everything from football to softball, and its No. 8 ranking. Or No. 14 Virginia, which has long been a relatively dormant program.

When you spread out the money and the talent, it just gives more teams an opportunity to compete at a higher level. That doesn’t mean all that money will guarantee wins, and Penn State is the poster child for that side of the equation this season.

College basketball underwent a lot of these kinds of changes in parity years ago, even before the transfer portal and NIL era, and in that sport, you get upsets galore just about every night.

From a sheer interest standpoint, you cannot deny that it’s better for college football when more teams around the country actually have a legitimate shot to get to a playoff.

As much I have always loved that every game mattered more in college football than any other sport, that approach basically saw 95 percent of teams eliminated from national championship contention the first month of the season.

I do not dispute Neil’s assertion that all this parity won’t change who actually comes out on top when all is said and done. The big boys will still dominate in that regard, and while Indiana might be ranked No. 2, I believe there are still at least 6-8 teams that would beat the Hoosiers in a playoff game.

Regardless, it does make things more fun having programs like Indiana rise up from the dead to become true contenders.

And just think, when — not if — the playoff expands to 16 teams, goodness, there could be a whole bunch of other traditional also-rans that find themselves becoming the next Indiana.

Cory Giger hosts the new Blue & White Wrapup show following each Penn State game this season on WTRN-FM 96.9 and 100.7.