The Hoosier are Flippin' Champs

Indiana football two years ago was a lost cause, something only mentioned in the punchline of a joke. The University of Indiana has long been known as a basketball school, and rightly so: This basketball program were regular-season Big 10 champions 22 times. They had made the final four in the NCAA Tournament eight times, and went on to win the entire thing five times. Assembly Hall in Bloomington is known as one of the most iconic arenas in College Basketball. But this story isn’t about basketball. 

After finishing the 2023 college football season 3-9, Indiana sought to make a change at the head coaching position. On November 30th, 2023, they announced the hiring of Curt Cignetti, and frankly, no one could care less. Indiana was the losingest program in Division 1 College Football history, having lost 713 games. No matter who they hired as head coach, they were destined for, at best, mediocrity. Cignetti soon gathered some attention in his first press conference when he made a confident remark to reporters. When asked how he could sell the vision for his program, he replied, “I win. Google me.”

Cignetti was the son of Frank Cignetti, a former college football head coach and hall of famer, and always had a dream since childhood to be a head coach. However, he wasn’t so lucky at the start. He worked his way up the ladder  on coaching staffs of teams that didn’t win—Rice, Temple, and Pittsburgh—until he became a recruiting coordinator and receivers’ coach for Nick Saban’s Alabama. He saw a lot of success there; however, it wasn’t until he was 50 when he would get a head coaching gig at DII Indiana University of Pennsylvania where he revolutionized a failing program. He then went to Elon University and did the same thing. Afterwards, he became the head coach at James Madison and turned them into an FCS powerhouse. Then to Indiana, a graveyard, a program that never won. 

https://frontofficesports.com/curt-cignetti-indiana-football-contract/

Indiana’s initial game in 2024 under the Cignetti era saw them win against Florida International in front of a nearly empty Memorial Stadium. And then, he changed the culture of the school. He brought in multiple transfers from James Madison and demanded investment and attitude. He guided Indiana to its best start in program history, 10-0. He finished the season 11-2 and ranked 10th nationally after losing to Notre Dame in the first round of the College Football Playoff. 

Going into the 2025 season, Indiana was ranked 20th in the AP poll. After starting the season 5-0, they rose to 7th, and after beating 3rd ranked Oregon in Eugene, Indiana took the third spot themselves. This was the highest ranking in program history. The following week, they improved to 7-0 and were ranked 2nd nationally. The Hoosiers ended the regular season 12-0 and had beaten their arch-rivals, Purdue, 56-3. On December 6th, Indiana played the number 1-ranked Ohio State in the Big 10 championship. The Hoosiers won 13-10 in a nail-biter, improving to 13-0, and the next morning were ranked number one going into the College Football Playoff, getting a bye in the first round. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza became the first Hoosier to win the Heisman Trophy. In the Rose Bowl quarter-final, Indiana dismantled number 9-seed Alabama 38-3, thanks to a lockdown performance from their defense and near-perfect quarterback play from Fernando Mendoza. In the Peach Bowl semi-final, Indiana destroyed 5-seed Oregon 56-22 to advance to the National Championship. 

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Indiana would face Miami in the national championship—in Miami’s home stadium. Despite the game being in Miami, the stands were full of Indiana red. With 9 minutes 27 seconds left on the clock, Indiana was leading Miami 17-14 and faced a 4th and 4 at the Miami 12-yard line. Curt Cignetti originally put the field goal unit on; however, he later called them off and decided to go for it, a massive risk. Indiana had gone for it earlier in that drive on what was the biggest play in the program's history. The play call was a quarterback draw. Mendoza kept it, broke two tackles, got the first down, broke another tackle, and wiggled around the Miami defense for a 12-yard touchdown to make the game 24-14. Indiana ultimately went on to win their first national championship in program history, winning the game 27-21. 

https://www.si.com/college-football/miami-knew-fernando-mendozas-td-run-was-coming

In that moment, the guts, toughness, and coaching carried Indiana to a National Title. It’s still hard to believe that Indiana are national champions, but in a chaotic college football world, this felt pure because of how it happened. The fundamentals, the self-belief, and 3-star recruits that played like superstars turned college football upside down. So yes, it's true, Curt Cignetti wins.