Numerous well-known names can be found at the top of the college football rankings.
Oregon. Ohio University. Texas. Penn State. They attract five-star recruits and are established powerhouses that regularly contend for conference and national titles.
But you might give a double take at the following name on the list.
Indiana.
With five national titles, including three under the renowned coach Bob Knight, this team is arguably more well-known for its accomplishments on the basketball court than the football field. Indiana is in the running for the College Football Playoffs and is having its finest season ever.
Perhaps the most important game in the Hoosiers’ history will take place on Saturday at noon ET when they play No. 2-ranked Ohio State.
You would be right if it seemed unlikely that one of the least successful programs in history would become the most popular team in the sport today.
Over the past three seasons, Indiana (10-0) has failed to accumulate ten wins in a row. It has only made 13 bowl appearances in 126 years and has never ended with ten or more wins. When O.J. Simpson, a running back from Southern California, won the MVP award in 1967, it made its only appearance at the Rose Bowl.
What, then, has caused the rapid turnaround? It all began when a new coach took over the fan base as soon as he arrived on campus.
At a basketball game in December, Curt Cignetti took the microphone to address the Assembly Hall audience. He proclaimed right away that Purdue, Indiana’s biggest opponent, is awful, along with Michigan and Ohio State. The audience lost it.
Wearing a blue suit, white shirt, and crimson tie, he was asked about luring athletes to Bloomington during his first press conference of the day. Why would a transfer or top-ranked high school recruit choose the Hoosiers over more established programs?
He gave a straightforward response.
After a lengthy silence, Cignetti declared, “I win.” Look me up on Google.
The fan base was shocked when they saw the remark, which is now seen on T-shirts and memes on social media. Furthermore, he wasn’t merely stating it casually.
The 63-year-old Cignetti has actually won a career. He started out as a part of Nick Saban’s first Alabama coaching staff in 2007 and has since advanced through the ranks. In 2011, he took over a failing Indiana University of Pennsylvania squad and guided it to a 53-17 record over six seasons, earning him his first head coaching position. Following two seasons with a 14-9 record at Elon, Cignetti finished with a 52-9 record at James Madison. Last year, the Dukes only dropped two games.
At Indiana, nothing has changed.
In the Big Ten, the Hoosiers are rated top in points per game (43.9), passing yards (2,765), passer rating (179.8), and rushing touchdowns (32) after a three-win season. They are also ranked second in throwing touchdowns (25).
Since Cignetti worked harder than almost everyone else in the transfer portal, those stats have mostly come from a roster of newcomers. Along with 17 freshmen, 31 players—second only to Colorado in the nation—have come from other programs. The strange part is that James Madison was the source of 13 of those.
16 of the 22 starters for Cignetti are transfers.
Among them is starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke, a 2022 Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Year winner and former Ohio Bobcat. Rourke has only had four interceptions while throwing for 2,410 yards and 21 touchdowns. After Miami’s Cam Ward, he has the second-highest passer rating in the nation (88.1).
Additionally, the Hoosiers have one of the top defenses in college football. They give up 15 points per game (No. 7) and only 270.4 yards (No. 3).
At a press conference this week, Cignetti stated, “This is a team that is capable, and the only limitations on this football team would be those we put on ourselves, between our ears.” However, this gang of males doesn’t share that viewpoint. We will approach this upcoming game with faith and confidence, and we will perform well when we play.
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It’s easier said than done while playing No. 2 Ohio State. Once again, the Buckeyes, a legendary program with 39 Big Ten wins and eight national titles, are a formidable threat.
Ryan Day’s team has only lost once this season, a 32-31 road setback to No. 1 Oregon, under the leadership of transfer quarterback Will Howard, a former Kansas State standout. With running backs Quinshon Judkins (723 yards, eight touchdowns) and TreVeyon Henderson (662 yards, five touchdowns), it has a formidable backfield. Jeremiah Smith is perhaps the best freshman wide receiver in football.
The Hoosiers’ record against the Buckeyes is 12-80-5, and they haven’t won since 1988. That’s 31 losses in a row. However, Cignetti stated that his squad will be prepared to surprise the collegiate football community.
He stated this week that in order to maximize our chances of success on Saturday, we must stack moments, meetings, practices, and days. I have faith in our team to prepare well, perform well, enter the game with poise, and play our best. ecstatic about the chance.
The program has the same level of faith in Cignetti as Cignetti has in the program. His contract was extended by the Indiana administration last week till 2032, with yearly compensation of $8 million.
It’s hoping that this season marks the beginning of something extraordinary.
After first meeting Coach Cignetti, we were very confident that he was the perfect fit for what we were trying to build with our football program, athletic director Scott Dolson said in a statement. We loved what he’s creating here and were sure IU could become a successful program. He is bringing student-athletes here, and we adore them. We love how our fan base has rallied around this team and made Memorial Stadium the place to be on Saturday afternoons. And now, we love the fact that he s going to be doing all those things right here in Bloomington for a long, long time.
CORRECTION(Nov. 21, 2024, 11:38 a.m.): An earlier version of this article misstated James Madison University s losses last season. It was two, not one.
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