Nick Saban praises Curt Cignetti’s rebuild at Indiana, reveals whether it's sustainable

Curt Cignetti has the Indiana Hoosiers playing their best football. This weekend, they face one of their biggest tests yet, as Indiana prepares for a high-stakes showdown against Oregon in Eugene. 

ESPN’s College GameDay is rolling into town to spotlight the surging Hoosiers and the Ducks, and with Friday’s Pat McAfee Show on site, Nick Saban broke down how Cignetti has managed to orchestrate one of the most remarkable turnarounds in college football. He also predicted whether Indiana’s meteoric rise is sustainable in the long run.

“I think when you’re having that many changes on your roster every year, you know you have to do a fantastic job of evaluation — which, you know, Curt Cignetti has done so far,” Saban said. “I don’t think you could change a program as quickly as he has at Indiana, especially one that doesn’t have a tradition of success and culture as a football program, as you mentioned, without the transfer portal.

“He brought a bunch of players from his old school that knew his culture and how he wanted to do it, and got a quarterback in there that could make some plays. Now he has an even better quarterback, in my opinion. So I do think it’s sustainable — but I also think there’s a lot of risk involved when you have that much change every year on your roster.

“You know, I was always able to be in a position where you could develop players, and you knew what was coming. They bought into the culture, and the older guys influenced the younger guys. And it just kept on and on and on. So you had this sort of built-in tradition when it came to what the expectations were. But when you bring new players in, and you have that many every year, that’s a more difficult challenge.”

Pat McAfee echoed Saban’s sentiments. He noted that Cignetti’s rapid rebuild reminds him of what Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard once said about establishing a culture before bringing in outside help.

“Chris Ballard said it once when he was trying to develop the Indianapolis Colts — and he has his best team right now, and I’m happy for him getting a chance to experience a little happiness as a general manager — he said you have to establish the culture before you bring in the free agents. Because if you bring in the free agents, and they’re the ones setting your culture, you’re in trouble,” McAfee explained.

“Now, in college football, though, teams and fans don’t have a lot of patience. So using the transfer portal and having early success while building your culture through recruiting or younger transfer players is certainly what you have to do at the same time. I think Indiana is ready to do it. I think Cignetti’s enjoying his time, and I really appreciate what he’s done for the Hoosiers.”

Whether Indiana can take down the reigning Big Ten champions remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: Cignetti has the Hoosiers rolling. As both Saban and McAfee pointed out, Indiana’s foundation is far beyond simply a couple of solid performances. The Hoosiers are building a culture, and it’s starting to look like it might last.