Curt Cignetti has not just turned around the fortunes of the Indiana University football program, he's made them into a juggernaut—a team that is not only winning games, is not only expected to win games, but is expected to dominate games. After crushing a UCLA team that was on a sudden hot streak, the Hoosiers are sailing smooth. Cignetti's no-holds-barred approach and maniacal attention to detail have given this program life that it's never had before. He's become the hottest coach in the sport, and for that reason, fans and alums should be absolutely terrified.
Indiana has never had any real football success to speak of. This is basketball country, and aside from two random Big Ten titles in the ancient past, football has been a complete afterthought. Then, all of a sudden, they hand the job over to a former Sabanite who was doing big things with little old James Madison, and a sleeping giant has awoken.
In Cignetti's debut campaign last year, the Hoosiers lost just two games: to Ohio State and then to Notre Dame in the first round of the College Football Playoff, a place Indiana typically has no business being in the first place. Now in his second year, Indiana is on the precipice of an undefeated regular season that will most likely end with a matchup against Ohio State in the Big Ten title game. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza is not exactly 2019 Joe Burrow, but he's thrown for nearly 2,000 yards and 24 TDs with only three interceptions on the season. They have a potent rushing duo and a tough defense, and are starting to recruit at a decent level. And while I can neither confirm or deny whether I am being held at gunpoint by noted Hoosier and my editor Billy Haisley [Ed. note: always_has_been.jpg], I do believe it is an exciting time to be a fan of Indiana football, even if this Cinderella story's end is surely imminent.
There's no way around it: Indiana is nobody's idea of a destination job. It is, at absolute best, a stepping stone. And though Cignetti has said the right things and even signed a new contract out of good faith, this offseason is going to see a lot of the best gigs in college football open up. Some, like LSU and *blecch* Florida, are already open. Cignetti is not only pulling off a miracle in Indiana, he's doing so with all the manic intensity the best college coaches tend to have. He is also the kind of character that college coaching used to be full of: surly and sassy, at times affecting a droll seriousness but actually brimming with personality—just watch him on the sidelines acting a fool. You cannot convince me that any fan would be more excited to see their school hire Matt Rhule or Alex Golesh than Cignetti. Brian Kelly may have treated LSU like a payday for his second vacation home, but imagine if a guy with actual passion like Cignetti was there. At Florida State, I'd sacrifice Mike Norvell 100 times over for a coach like Cigs.
The world is his oyster. Not to get all biblical, but how much temptation is a man expected to deny himself? There's a likely scenario that Indiana loses to Ohio State in the conference title game and then makes a deep run in the playoff until they're stopped by either Alabama, seemingly the team of destiny right now, or Ohio State again. There's also a chance that they don't lose a single game this year, and they really are the best team in football this season. For the sake of IU, I really do hope that's the case. That way, even if they don't keep their superstar coach beyond this year, a national championship would make for one hell of a consolation prize.
