On Monday Night at Hard Rock Stadium, the Indiana Hoosiers defeated the Miami Hurricanes 27-21 to become National Champions. Yes, you read that right. For the first time in school history, the Indiana Hoosiers are National Champions in Football.
In 2022, the University of Indiana became the first school to reach 700 losses as a program. Heading into this year, they had not won a bowl game in 23 years. Since 1995, they had only had 4 winning seasons.
So, how did we get here?
Curt Cignetti
“Google me, I win” – Curt Cignetti in 2023, shortly after being named Indiana’s next head coach.
Sure, Cignetti had a track record of being a winner wherever he went. Just before going to Indiana, Cignetti had spent four years prior as the head coach of James Madison, where he led the team to a combined 52-9 record, and oversaw the team become an FBS school. Even before then, he saw success as te head coach of schools like Elon University and IUP.
But this was Indiana, the worst program in College Football history. Yet, Cignetti’s confidence never wavered. Some claimed he was cocky, others just confident, but Cignetti always knew how to run his mouth.
In his first season as head coach of Indiana, the program experienced their best season ever. In the regular season they went 11-1, before a first round exit to in-state rival Notre Dame. What a great story. But this was just the beginning.
“King of the Transfer Portal”, many have dubbed him. In the portal, Cignetti was able to boost his roster, most notably acquiring Fernando Mendoza from Cal. Still though, Indiana came into the season ranked #20 in the preseason AP poll.
The Turning Point
Yet, as they continued to win, no one took them as seriously as other top contenders. That all changed in a week 7 matchup against Oregon in Eugene. Going into one of the hardest places to play in College Football, where Oregon had an 18 game winning streak, not many believed Indiana had a chance.
This single game defined who the Indiana Hoosiers were. Late in the game tied 20-20, Mendoza and the offense took the field following an Oregon pick-six to tie the game. With pressure mounting on the road, the Hoosiers didn’t fold. Mendoza led the team on a 12-play, 75 yard touchdown drive to take the lead, on the way to a 30-20 Indiana win.
From that moment on, the Hoosiers never looked back.
Dominance
Not only did Indiana not lose a game the rest of the season, but they knocked off Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon, and Miami all in a row to claim their first ever National Championship.
From the worst program in college sports, to National Champions. A run like this has never been seen before, and it’s hard to imagine Curt Cignetti and Fernando Mendoza would be the ones leading the way.
Fernando Mendoza spent three years at Cal, with three different offensive coordinators, before transferring to Indiana. Just a year ago, only few knew about him, and now he is a Heisman winner, National Champion, and soon to be #1 pick in the NFL Draft.
For Cignetti, only a few even knew who he was before becoming head coach at Indiana. Even then, he was just someone that people scoffed at for his introduction press conference. Not many though much of him then, but he is now a National Champion head coach for the Indiana Hoosiers, and is only just beginning.
Perhaps we can all draw some inspiration from what Cignetti and Mendoza were able to accomplish this season. For a sport that has been dominated by blue-chip college football programs and five-stars, Cignetti, Mendoza, and a team of “misfits”, were the first program in the modern era to have a 16-0 season.
“It’d be a hell of a movie” – Curt Cignetti.
