The Hoosiers enter the matchup against Miami with a perfect 15-0 record. This dominance has naturally sparked comparisons to other all-time great teams. Indiana’s wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. was put on the spot about a hypothetical matchup between this year’s Hoosiers and Joe Burrow’s legendary 2019 squad. However, his response divided the entire college football internet.​

Speaking with On3’s JD Pickell ahead of the national championship, Cooper Jr. didn’t shy away from the question. “So I just want to ask you this, 2019 LSU was obviously electrifying. Just give me the score prediction. If this team lands it up with that 2019 LSU, what are you saying the final score is?” Pickell asked. Cooper answered, “That’s hard. I would say 24-21 Indiana.” 

The clip went viral almost immediately. LSU fans flooded social media to remind everyone that Joe Burrow’s Tigers went 15-0 against a schedule that included seven wins over top-10 opponents and destroyed Oklahoma 63-28 in the playoff semifinal before dismantling Clemson 42-25 for the title. Indiana fans, meanwhile, pointed to their own resume with a 56-22 demolition of Oregon in the semifinals and a defensive unit that’s surrendered more than 24 points exactly zero times this season.​

The offensive firepower comparison certainly favors LSU on paper, and it’s not particularly close. Joe Burrow’s 2019 season remains the single greatest quarterback performance in college football history. He had 5,671 passing yards, 60 touchdown passes, and just six interceptions while completing 76.3% of his throws. He had two future NFL superstars at wide receiver in Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson, plus running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, providing balance. 

Fernando Mendoza’s 2025 season has been outstanding, but it simply doesn’t match Burrow’s otherworldly production. In their two playoff games combined, Burrow threw for 956 yards and 12 touchdowns without an interception, while Mendoza has 369 yards and eight touchdowns. The gap in passing volume is significant.​

But LSU’s defense was historically bad for a national champion. The 2019 Tigers allowed 344.2 yards per game (31st nationally) and 21.9 points per game (32nd nationally), making them the third-worst defensive team to ever win a title. CBS Sports noted that LSU allowed 25 or more points in seven games that season, with four opponents scoring 37 or more on them. 

They proved that you could outscore your way to a championship without stopping anyone. It was revolutionary at the time, but it also exposed a massive vulnerability. Indiana, by contrast, has the second-best scoring defense in the country at just 11.1 points allowed per game. Only three teams have scored more than 15 points against the Hoosiers all season, and all three of those games were played on the road. Bryant Haines’ defense ranks second nationally in total yards allowed (256.3 per game).​

So could Cooper’s prediction actually hold water? The case for Indiana rests on its defense being able to slow down LSU’s aerial assault. We’ll never know for sure. But if Indiana dominates Miami on Monday night, this conversation is about to get a whole lot more interesting.​

The internet has entered the chat

The moment Cooper’s prediction hit social media, college football fans came out swinging from both sides. LSU supporters immediately pointed to the fundamental differences in roster construction between eras. “Indiana is a great story, but 2019 was a completely different era at this point. There was basically no portal, so all the blue bloods were infinitely more stacked than they are right now. 2019 OSU and Clemson would crush 2025 Indiana and so would LSU,” one fan argued.

In 2019, the transfer portal was barely a year old. Teams like LSU, Clemson, and Ohio State hoarded elite talent for three or four years without constant churn. The counter-argument from an Indiana fan was equally pointed, “Only 3? That LSU squad had no defense. Indiana by 14.” LSU allowed 25-plus points seven times that season and ranked 32nd nationally in scoring defense, making them one of the worst defensive national champions in modern history.​

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The debate got even spicier when LSU fans started breaking down specific matchups. “Their best corner wouldn’t be able to cover Terrace Marshall let alone the other two,” one Tiger faithful declared. Marshall was literally the third option in that passing game behind Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson, and he still caught 46 passes for 671 yards and 13 touchdowns as a sophomore. 

“He’s right,” one Hoosiers fan simply stated about Cooper’s prediction. Another acknowledged the entertainment value saying, “I like the confidence. That’d be a dang good game.” Miami fans, meanwhile, had their own take while preparing for Monday’s title game: “Miami handle that,” referring to their own matchup with Indiana, perhaps trying to remind everyone that the Hoosiers still have to win the championship they’re actually playing in before entering these debates.​