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Not long after Curt Cignetti departed James Madison University to take over as the head coach of the Indiana football team, the coaching veteran delivered one of the most memorable soundbites of the season. When asked how he would recruit high-level players to play for a program that has never won ten games in a single season, Cignetti responded, “I win. Google me.”
In that regard, the 63-year-old head coach was not wrong. Heading into the season, over the course of a career that has taken him from IUPUI to Elon to James Madison, Cignetti had accumulated a 119-36 record as a head coach. But still, the thought of turning the Indiana Hoosiers into a bonafide contender seemed far-fetched, especially in his first season coaching the team.
However, after a dominant 56-7 win over a 5-1 Nebraska team that looks to be on the come-up, it's simply indisputable that some sort of remarkable culture change is happening in Bloomington. And now as he sits on a perfect 7-0 record at Indiana, Cignetti isn't toning down the confident rhetoric.
“We made some plays and broke their will,” Cignetti said summarizing his team's performance, per Andy Staples of On3 Sports. “We’re not the '76 Pittsburgh Steelers, but we are 7-0 and haven’t trailed yet.”
No, this Indiana roster does not boast the likes of Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Mel Blount, Terry Bradshaw or Franco Harris, nor have the Hoosiers been tested by a ranked opponent yet this season, but Curt Cignetti did make two statements that are factual… Indiana is 7-0 (for the first time since 1967), and they have not trailed for a single second this season. Not only that, but the Hoosiers have outscored their seven opponents by the grand total of 341 to 96.
One of the primary catalysts of this special season has been transfer quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who won the MAC Offensive Player of the Year at Ohio in 2022. Rourke led the country in quarterback rating heading into the week, but unfortunately, the sixth year senior exited the win against Nebraska early with a thumb injury. After the game, Curt Cignetti shared that taking Kurtis Rourke out of the game was a precautionary decision.
Those are the kinds of decisions you can afford to make when you're leading games by three touchdowns at the half.
Indiana is rolling, and based on how the Big Ten is shaking out, it's possible that the Hoosiers won't be truly tested until they have to visit Ohio State on November 23rd.
