It’s astonishing how far Indiana Football has come in such a short time. From 2021 through 2023, the Hoosiers collected only nine wins and a staggering 27 losses. They were widely considered the worst program in the FBS after becoming the first team to hit 700 all-time losses in 2022. The university fired head coach Tom Allen and brought in Curt Cignetti to replace him. Mind you, Cignetti had never even been a coordinator at the Power 4 level. His early years were spent as a position coach at Rice, Temple, & Pitt before adding recruiter to his résumé for NC State and Alabama. Still, if you looked at his head coaching record, one thing stood out: all he ever did was win.
Cignetti talked a big game when he arrived, determined to get Indiana fans to buy into the new standard he planned to build. His confidence rubbed plenty of rival fanbases the wrong way. Shortly after being hired, he traveled to Lucas Oil Stadium prior to the 2023 Big Ten Championship where he declared, “We’ll be playing in this game next year.” Then there was his famous appearance in Assembly Hall during Indiana men’s basketball’s game against Maryland where he said, “Purdue sucks, but so does Michigan and Ohio State.” It took him an extra year, but he followed through. Indiana is now the Big Ten Champion, and since making those comments, he’s gone 2-0 against Purdue, 1-0 against Michigan, and 1-1 against Ohio State.
His impact on the program has been remarkable. He set goals many believed were unreachable and has already crossed off several of them. But even with a conference title in hand, Cignetti knows there is still more to accomplish this season. After defeating Ohio State over the weekend, Indiana vaulted to the No. 1 ranking for the first time in school history and earned a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. The extra time gives his team room to recover and prepare for what comes next.
“Yeah, it’s a three-and-a-half-week break,” Cignetti said in Sunday’s press conference. “We’ll treat the first half of this [week] just like any off week. We’ll practice enough to stay sharp, get the rest and recovery in, get the weights in. Once we figure out who we’re going to play, which will be Friday night the 19th, I think, then we’ll be able to kind of hone in and go into game plan practice mode.”
With the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff, Indiana heads to the Rose Bowl in a few weeks to face the winner of the Alabama–Oklahoma matchup. That game kicks off the postseason on Friday, December 19, at 8 p.m. EST. Cignetti now has plenty of time to regroup his team, refocus their mindset, and push them to stay just as hungry as they were in the chase for the Big Ten title.
As surprising as it might seem, the College Football Playoff isn’t new territory for the Hoosiers or for Cignetti. Last year, Coach Cig guided Indiana to an 11-1 record that secured the program’s first-ever CFP berth. Their run ended in a 17-27 loss to Notre Dame, a team that went on to play for the national title. This time, though, Cignetti enters the bracket with experience and a roster he believes is built to compete with anyone.
“Second time through, you’re always better,” Cignetti said. “It’s only going to help us. This is a different team that’s overcome some hurdles last year’s team didn’t. We’re Big Ten champs. Beat the No. 1 ranked team in the country. Beat the No. 3 ranked team in the country at the time on the road. Proud of what we’ve accomplished.”
Last season, remarkable as it was, unfolded much differently than this one. Indiana didn’t face much adversity, and when tests finally came against Ohio State and Notre Dame, the Hoosiers couldn’t finish. They hung tough at first but struggled to capitalize when the game tightened.
This year, everything has changed. Indiana has delivered defining moments in all three phases of the game, repeatedly rising in clutch situations. Their poise has turned close games into signature wins over Iowa, No. 5 Oregon (the No. 3 team at the time), Penn State, and now Ohio State. It’s a testament to how much the program has grown in just one year.
Fans will have to wait a bit before seeing the Hoosiers take the field again, but the wait should be worth it. Indiana last played in the Rose Bowl stadium in 2024 against UCLA, yet their only actual Rose Bowl Game appearance came on January 1, 1968 in a loss to USC. Nearly 60 years later, the Hoosiers finally get another shot. And this time, a place in the CFP semifinals is on the line.