Jake Russell
@oreojakesters
In 49 other states, it’s just basketball.
But… what if they’re also really good at football? Does that take away from the basketball? Do we not give them credit for football because they can only have basketball?
That’s what’s revolved around Curt Cignetti and the Indiana Hoosiers football team for the past year and a half now. The coach was dominant at JMU, took his roster with him and built the best Hoosier football team ever with an 11-2 record and a College Football Playoff berth, and has the undefeated Hoosiers heading into Eugene this weekend. We kind of thought it was cute at the beginning because how were these candy-striped football players from a basketball school winning so handedly in a loaded B1G conference?
They were one of the most divisive teams in the country last season with the reality that they did NOT have the benefit of resume and played one of the weakest power conference schedules in the conference and in the one game in a marquee matchup Ohio State outmanned them. It caused Curt Cignetti to get the offense running with the fire of a thousand suns and score as many points as possible if they weren’t able to play with the big boys. Western Illinois? Here’s 77 points. UCLA? Here’s 42. Nebraska? 56. Cignetti knows that the selection committee is as political as it gets and is playing from behind as the cute basketball school with a soft schedule and has to assert his dominance.
Cignetti and Indiana are proof of concept that if a team truly wants to turn their programs into one revolving around football, you can. Sure, the Hoosier basketball is always going to have the history, but football generates the most revenue and Cignetti has tried to do all he can to turn it into something that isn’t just a fluke, but one worthy of investment.
Ahead of their matchup with Oregon, he had previously made comments about how some schools just have “unlimited resources” to get a lot of nice players. Well, Indiana has done that with Cignetti via taking his JMU team with him last year, bringing in transfers like now potential Heisman winning QB Fernando Mendoza, and simply coaching up an offense that is fun and has the 7th-most yards per game because he doesn’t let his foot off the gas. It was 35-10 at halftime against then 9th ranked Illinois and he looked annoyed that he didn’t score more points in the sideline interview.
The program needs the style points, but playing schools like Illinois and Oregon this year will certainly help their case to prove that they belong. There are schools that are much wealthier and better off than Cignetti that COULD build a generational program winner that are just simply choosing not to.
And for that, Cignetti is angry about it.
