12/07/25 01:47:00
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12/07 01:45 CST No. 2 Indiana caps Cignetti's incredible turnaround by beating
No. 1 Ohio St. for Big Ten title
No. 2 Indiana caps Cignetti's incredible turnaround by beating No. 1 Ohio St.
for Big Ten title
By MICHAEL MAROT
AP Sports Writer
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) --- From the moment Curt Cignetti took Indiana's head
coaching job, he made it clear this would be a different program.
He refused to tolerate any moral victories or close calls and instead expected
to win, to win big and win immediately.
In just 737 days, he turned what had been the Football Bowl Subdivision's
losingest program into the nation's No. 1 seed heading into the playoffs, a
legitimate championship contender and a Big Ten champion for the first time
since 1967.
"I think we were a year late," he joked as the trophy presentation began
following Saturday night's 13-10 win over No. 1 Ohio State.
To the rest of the college football world, Cignetti's incredible turnaround has
come so quickly, it's likely to lift the expectations of every program in
America.
He took over a team that had endured three consecutive losing seasons since
qualifying for a bowl game and brashly dared anyone who thought he couldn't win
to Google him. The former Nick Saban assistant delivered quickly, winning a
school record 11 games and taking the Hoosiers to their first playoff
appearance in Year 1.
The doubters didn't think Cignetti or the Hoosiers could come anywhere near
replicating that kind of success this season.
But they've been even better in 2025. At 13-0, the Hoosiers are the last
unbeaten team in major college football and have their first outright
championship since 1945.
By beating the Buckeyes (12-1) in Indianapolis, they ended the nation's longest
active winning streak at 16 and the Big Ten's longest winning streak in a
series. When they beat then No. 3 Oregon (11-1) in October, they ended the
nation's longest active regular season winning streak and the nation's longest
active home winning streak.
In between they shed the label of FBS' losingest program, gladly handing the
title to Northwestern. And now they have their first win over Ohio State since
1988, snapping a 30-year losing streak by winning their first conference crown
in more than half a century.
Not enough? Cignetti earned his second straight Big Ten Coach of the Year Award
this week, Fernando Mendoza became the first Hoosier to be named the Big Ten's
top quarterback since 2001, and Mendoza also appears poised to become the first
Indiana player to win the Heisman Trophy after adding two more signature
moments to his resume.
His perfectly placed 17-yard TD pass to Elijah Sarratt on the sideline gave
Indiana a 13-10 lead midway through the third quarter, and he sealed the win
with an incredible 33-yard pass to Charlie Becker on third down with about two
minutes to go --- all after getting hurt on the first play of the game.
"Although I got hit, I never was going to stay down," Mendoza said. "I'd die
for my brothers on that field."
Naturally, the brash-talking Cignetti went for it, too, and Mendoza made him
look like a genius.
"I wasn't going to play not to lose," Cignetti said.
How good has Indiana been during his two-year tenure?
They are now 24-2, the only losses coming at Ohio State and at Notre Dame last
season, the two teams that played in the national championship game. Cignetti
and his players have each spoken about what they learned from those experiences
and how it helped steel them for the mission they've been on this season, and
he's already had his contract extended twice.
Indiana heads into the playoffs with an offense and defense ranked the top five
in scoring and that managed to beat Ohio State at its usual game --- physically
playing keep away, wearing down opponents and holding them out of the end zone.
Now a new journey begins for Cignetti and a school far more renowned for
winning national titles in men's basketball, men's soccer and swimming and
diving. Football has never come close --- until now. And these Hoosiers believe
they have what it takes to continue what seemed unthinkable just two years ago.
"It means a lot, we played for each other," linebacker Isaiah Jones said of
winning the championship. "For any of the doubters out there, this was the
final nail in the coffin."
___
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