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Cignetti, Indiana, and the cheat code for success in the modern era of college football
College Football will likely never be the same again.
Indiana’s 27-21 win over Miami on Monday night was the final chapter of a historic national championship run, a quite remarkable achievement from a traditionally unremarkable football program. The fact that it took head coach Curt Cignetti less than two years to achieve such a feat challenges what we think we know about the sport.
Parity is the cornerstone of the NFL. The system Bert Bell and his fellow owners created with the draft back in 1935, which evolved into balanced strengths of schedule and revenue sharing further down the line, demands it.
But that is not the case in college football. Powerhouses that developed early in the sport’s history, for the most part, have maintained their status as the elite in the game to this day. Some, such as Nebraska and Army and Navy before them, faded away. Others, such as Oregon with their financial might, have muscled their way in. But largely, the status quo remains.
- Read next | Indiana defeats Miami 27-21 to cap perfect college football season with first national title
These blue blood programs have simply dominated the college football landscape for eternity. Sure, we’ve seen upsets in playoffs or title games. But perhaps the last time we saw an unfancied team win it all might be as far back as Georgia Tech’s shared national title in 1990, or BYU in 1984, if you want an outright winner.
The grasp the big schools and big conferences have on this game cannot be overstated. They bring in the most money, so they hold the most power. You see it now in key decision-making; shaping the future of college football by dictating playoff expansion or athlete compensation terms, always serving their own interests first.
Because of this more fiscal, free market orientation, the Michigans, Ohio States and Alabamas of this world will continue to monopolise resources. It takes something quite seismic or unique to swim against the tide and enjoy success, particularly on the biggest stage in the sport.
In 2025, Indiana was that something.
The start of a revolution
Curt Cignetti didn’t end up in Indiana by mistake. He’d waited a long time for a Power 4 program to give him a call, but when it happened it was the perfect combination of timing and opportunity. College football had entered an era of free labour, with talent able to jump schools on a yearly basis.
Many thought that would mean even more stockpiling of blue-chip players by the dozen or so schools with yearly national title ambitions. But what it actually resulted in was the lowering of the line whereby a football program had a legitimate chance of winning a national title.
There’s no doubt the smaller FBS schools have struggled, losing elite talent to the Power conferences. Cignetti himself took full advantage of the transfer portal, bringing more than a dozen of his players from James Madison with him to Bloomington.
But what the portal also allowed for was impatience. Players no longer had to sit behind starters waiting for their chance to start. Instead, they could leave LSU or Penn State and head to school just below that elite category, spreading out talent across the college football landscape.
Indiana backed this up with a recommitment to football. No longer would the Hoosiers be synonymous with just basketball. Cignetti had NIL money to play with, and whilst it wasn’t to the levels Miami or Oregon may enjoy, it was enough to shrink the gap and allow elite coaching to cover the rest of the distance.
And so, what you saw on Monday night was a roster made up predominantly of players who had begun their college careers elsewhere. Indiana had one of the oldest rosters in the sport in 2025, made up of players ‘coming down’ from Ohio State and Notre Dame, and ‘levelling up’ from places like JMU & UAB.
The squad construction was just part of the winning formula, but it was a big part. Cignetti didn’t just embrace it; in two years, he mastered it.
Putting the pieces together
Miami deserves a lot of credit for challenging Indiana like no other team did in the playoffs. The reason for this was very simple; these two schools, from a talent and roster makeup perspective, are remarkably similar.
Both have outrageously big offensive lines that bulldoze lanes for elite running backs. Both have quarterbacks capable of winning games with their arms. And both are able to get splash plays from NFL-calibre pass rush duos and opportunistic defensive backs. Wherever you looked on both sidelines, there was elite talent.
The difference, of course, is that the Hurricanes have essentially paid top dollar for theirs, whilst the Hoosiers have shopped at discount stores to find hidden gems or other people’s castoffs. Mendoza notwithstanding, not one name on IU’s roster would be recognisable had it not been for the arrival of Cignetti and his staff.
That’s quite a statement to make. But it’s a testament to the staff’s talent, character evaluation, and development. If anyone could raid the Group of Five for the cream of the talent, then Indiana wouldn’t be the only one challenging the establishment right now. Cignetti knew what he needed and went out and got it.
After that, it was a case of turning the talent into a team. And this is where the speed at which Indiana has jumped to the top of college football is most impressive. Within one year, the Hoosiers were in the playoffs, and 12 months later, they’re watching red and white confetti and throwing Gatorade over their head coach.
Cignetti has benefited from having two loyal coordinators by his side throughout his football journey. OC Mike Shanahan joined him at IUP in 2016, and DC Bryant Haines a year later at Elon. These assistants were reportedly paid $8,000 a year back with the Phoenix. Their loyalty now sees them earn a salary north of $1m.
This familiarity is the final piece in the Hoosiers’ championship jigsaw. Scheme, talent, expectations, standards; everything in harmony in the pursuit of one goal, led by one very unique human being. It was Indiana, but it could have been Michigan State, Syracuse or Duke, all had openings after the 2023 season.
Indiana has created a blueprint for success for mid-tier football programs playing catch-up. All you need to do is find a 63-year old head coach with a chip on his shoulder to turn the vision into reality.
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