Indiana's historic season has been 'incredibly gratifying' for great Hoosiers of the past

When Indiana takes the field inside Hard Rock Stadium, the Hoosiers won’t be playing for a national championship for just themselves — they’ll be playing for those who couldn’t.

Since its inception in 1887, Indiana football has been a perennial loser. It was the doormat of the Big Ten for decade after decade, with chances to achieve winning seasons few and far between.

But they did happen, as Indiana experienced a few flashes of success throughout more than a century of defeat. And for players on teams who were so close to winning on the biggest stage, the 2025-26 season presents a chance for Indiana to finally reach a level that their teams fell short of.

Most notably, the 1967 Hoosiers were Big Ten champions and played in the 1968 Rose Bowl Game against No. 1 USC. If IU had won, it would’ve had an argument to be national champion with a 10-1 record, but the Hoosiers were bested by the Trojans 14-3.

This year, though, Indiana did what the 1967 team couldn’t do. It went into Pasadena and won the Rose Bowl over Alabama, exorcising the demons of Indiana past while inching closer to the College Football Playoff title game.

“We’re just happy for the team. We’re blessed to say we’ve been there and they’ve done it, and we’re thrilled to see what IU is doing now,” Al Gage, a captain and tight end of the 1967-68 Indiana team, told TheHoosier.com.

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He expressed his gratitude for what the current team is doing and, with his words, voiced how excited he was to see Indiana achieve something his team wasn’t able to. He recalled his enthusiasm for playing in the Rose Bowl back then, but almost at the same level, his gratification in seeing the Hoosiers nearly 60 years later experience the run they’re currently on.

And for Gage and his teammates, it’s been a way to reconnect with their past. Unfortunately, a portion of his team has passed away, but for those who are still able, they discuss how special the current Hoosiers are.

“We still talk. We follow the team,” Gage added.

The St. Louis area native was a junior during Indiana’s Rose Bowl season, but it was only his second season seeing the field, as freshmen weren’t allowed to play at the time.

It was also head coach John Pont’s third season in Bloomington. And according to Gage, there are a lot of similarities between Pont and Curt Cignetti.

He mentioned that both orchestrated incredible turnarounds and “didn’t wallow in the history of the school not being a winner.”

Both coaches came from the lower levels of college football but were able to rise to a Rose Bowl level quickly. The only difference is that Cignetti’s team has an opportunity to become undisputed national champions with a perfect 16-0 season.

In order to reach the national title game, Indiana went from the Rose Bowl to the Peach Bowl — another postseason game the Hoosiers had once been a part of but fell short in.

Back in 1988, the Hoosiers traveled to Atlanta for their first-ever Peach Bowl appearance but lost to Tennessee 27-22. In 1990, IU was beaten by Auburn 27-23.

Once again in a major bowl game, Indiana couldn’t get it done. But once again, the 2025-26 Hoosiers were there to avenge the loss.

Cignetti’s team demolished Oregon in Atlanta to advance to the national final, which — similar to the Rose Bowl team from 1967 — brought real joy to the players who competed in the Peach Bowls under then-head coach Bill Mallory.

“It’s been incredibly gratifying for a lot of us, especially during the time we were at Indiana, because when we were there, we were actually pretty darn good,” Nolan Harrison, a defensive lineman at IU from 1987-90, told TheHoosier.com.

“To see the team not only match us but surpass us has been really gratifying.”

Harrison experienced a 10-year NFL career following his time in Bloomington, and like Gage, was pivotal to the Hoosiers’ success when he was there.

The teams under Mallory were the most successful era of Indiana football until Cignetti arrived, but those from the late 1980s and early 1990s are overjoyed to see the current Hoosiers finding otherworldly success.

“They’re very similar in what they do. But I will say this team is much more innovative and much more process- and accountability-driven,” Harrison, a Chicagoland native admitted.

He, too, drew comparisons between Mallory and Cignetti but said Cignetti goes above and beyond with preparation.

“I believe Coach Cignetti is doing a better job at a harder position than it was for Coach Mallory,” Harrison added.

And like Gage and his Rose Bowl teammates, Harrison and the rest of his team have connected through the historic run by this season’s Hoosiers.

“A lot of us are on text chains, texting each other and talking to each other,” he said. “Whether we’ve been crying over text or celebrating, over the last 24 months it’s been great.”

Indiana football has brought joy to a lot of people. From alumni and students to fans and everyone in between, the Hoosiers have captivated a state and fan base starved for college football success.

But even more so, members of Indiana football teams of the past have dreamed of their program finally achieving what they couldn’t.

For Gage and his Rose Bowl teammates, they finally got to witness Indiana conquer what they couldn’t in Pasadena.

And for Harrison and his Peach Bowl teams, they got to see the Hoosiers win in Atlanta after losing twice there in a four-year span.

Now, Indiana looks to achieve what no Hoosiers team ever has: a national championship. Gage, Harrison and the rest of their teammates will be watching — hoping, praying — that Indiana can reach the mountaintop of the sport they care so deeply about.

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“Don’t hold anything back. Put it all out there. And that’s what this IU team has done. Kudos to the players. Good luck. Have fun,” Gage said, sending a message to the Hoosiers ahead of the national title game.

And Harrison’s message?

`“Enjoy these moments. Live in them. But fight like you’re still the losingest program in the NCAA. Fight like everybody expects you to lose, because everyone does.

“People are waiting for us to lose so they can pounce and say we’re still not good enough and put us back in the ‘Indiana’s not a football school’ box. Play like you don’t want that to ever happen again.

“You have a chance at immortality. Seize that.”

Indiana has an opportunity to cap off a magical season with the biggest win in program history. It has a shot to forever etch its name into college football lore, and it’s 60 minutes away.

For so many people, a win would mean everything. But for these former players especially, it would provide closure for a program that shaped them into who they became. Indiana football hasn’t just been a losing program — it’s been one that has touched countless lives.

This 2025 team carries that legacy with it every time it takes the field, and it’s on the doorstep of something truly amazing. Almost unbelievable. And for players who lived through the highs and lows of IU football, it stirs emotion down to their core.

Gage said it best:

“A national championship — isn’t it amazing to hear people around Bloomington and across Indiana saying that? That’s amazing.”

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