Indiana continues remarkable run under Curt Cignetti by blasting Alabama with no end in sight

PASADENA, Calif. – Two years after being among the dregs of college football, Indiana continued its remarkable turnaround and relentless march to its first national title by crushing Alabama 38-3 in the Rose Bowl.

In 2023, Indiana was 3-9. The Hoosiers were a joke. “It was demoralizing,” Indiana junior offensive tackle Carter Smith said. 

Then in 2024, everything changed. Indiana hired 62-year old Curt Cignetti from James Madison. A guy with no big-time head coaching position to coach in the Big Ten. Smith laughs about his first interaction with Cignetti. 

“Whenever I had a one-on-one meeting with (former Indiana) coach (Tom) Allen, he was always very upbeat, smiling and very engaged,” Carter said. “He was always happy to see you. My first meeting with ‘Coach Cig’ he throws his feet up on the table and gets comfortable. 

“I’m like ‘OK, this is not what I’m used to.’ But not what I’m used to might be a good thing.”

A good thing? How about the greatest turnaround in college football history?

“The biggest goal for Coach Cig is to do what he came here to do,” Indiana linebacker Isaiah Jones said. “It was to flip the program. He took the losingest program in college football and flipped it into a College Football Playoff contender.”

The greatest team in Indiana history made quick work of Alabama in their College Football Playoff quarterfinal Thursday. The Hoosiers methodically bullied Bama. They piled it on. With former Tide legend Nick Saban watching from the sideline, the Hoosiers did to Bama what Saban and Bama had done to hundreds of teams. It was, as Saban would say, an ass whipping. 

All season, Alabama’s calling card had been its defense. In 10 games against SEC opponents, the Crimson Tide allowed 24 points or less nine times. Indiana eclipsed that early in the fourth quarter. Indiana finished with 215 yards rushing, Alabama had 193 yards overall.

“That’s what you would always love to see as a head coach,” Cignetti said. “Things we used to preach when I was (an assistant) at Alabama, about changing the way they think, breaking their will and that’s the best way to do it. Running the football.”

What Cignetti has accomplished in two years is simply remarkable. After last year’s 11-2 season and College Football Playoff berth, he made sure the Hoosiers weren’t a one-year wonder. 

Cignetti’s not surprised by Indiana’s success. He expected it. A career assistant, Cignetti was an assistant at Alabama under Saban from 2007-11, when he left to become head coach at Division II Indiana University-Pennsylvania.

“It was a chance to be the leader,” Cignetti said.

Six seasons at IUP, then two at Elon and then five at James Madison. Thirteen years grinding away from the national spotlight proving he was a head coach. 

“It was a culture shock,” Cignetti said. 

Those days included Cignetti “dressing in the shower at Clarion for game day.” Then there was the time the university decided to change their Internet system, without any advanced notice, so Cignetti didn’t have access to his game tape until less than 24 hours before his next game.

Cignetti can laugh about the old days now. But no one is laughing about the Hoosiers anymore. After the Bama beatdown, he was asked to describe his team. “It would be a helluva movie,” he said.

Anyone ready for “Hoosiers: the football version”?

Unlike the basketball Hoosiers movie, this one isn’t necessarily a fairy tale. Indiana’s players said Cignetti believes in them. Instills confidence. IU’s band of so-called overlooked and under-rated recruits are now two wins from completing a 16-0 national championship season.

“Other people look at our name and the (low) rankings of our recruits and don’t believe it. Like, how is it possible were this successful?”  Indiana offensive tackle Zen Michalski said. “There must be some kind of catch.”

There’s no catch. Just a belief in Cignetti and, more importantly, themselves.

“We just trust him,” said Indiana wide receiver Elijah Sarratt after his four receptions led the Hoosiers. “What he says, he actually does. To see a guy who says what he says and actually backs up what he says … he preaches excellence. He demands excellence. You don’t want a coach that doesn’t demand excellence. With his mentality, we really bought in from day one.”

Indiana defensive lineman Mario Landino joined the Hoosiers in 2024, a year after the disastrous 3-9 season.

“When I got here I was a little skeptical myself,” Landino said. “I wasn’t sure because people didn’t really care about football, it was all basketball. But Coach Sig just changed it for everyone. He changed the mindset and we all adapted.

“He kept us humble and built confidence. He’s a very confident guy. Sometimes he probably says things he doesn’t want to say, but it’s to instill confidence in us. And it makes us play better.”

Better than any other college football team in 2025.