EUGENE, Ore. — If you would have told me during my freshman or sophomore years in Bloomington that Indiana would go into Autzen Stadium and cement itself as one of college football’s best teams, I would have laughed you out of the room.
The Hoosiers played some of the sloppiest football in the nation in 2022 and ’23. Nothing encapsulates the final years of the Tom Allen era better than a four-overtime win over Akron that only came about because the Zips missed a 32-yard game-winning field goal attempt at the end of regulation. Akron finished the season 2-10 and was one of the worst teams in the FBS.
That game took place on Sept. 23, 2023, just a little over two years ago. Now, during my senior year, Indiana is in line to play for a Big Ten Championship and make the College Football Playoff for a second straight year.
“We’re the emerging superpower in college football,” Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti said after leading the Hoosiers to their first ever 10-0 start and signing an eight-year contract extension in November 2024. “Why would I leave?”
It’s understandable that some people scoffed at his statement to FOX’s Rob Stone on Big Noon Kickoff, especially considering what happened the following week when Indiana played Ohio State. Emerging superpowers don’t get boatraced in big games.
As has been discussed at length, Indiana took its lumps against elite teams in 2024. And, as Cignetti showed with his instant turnaround of the program, he doesn’t care about history.
The signs were there early on: A historic beatdown of Illinois in primetime for Cignetti’s first ranked win at Indiana, followed up by an ugly win at Kinnick Stadium against a stingy Iowa team to show that the Hoosiers can hang in a tough environment.
Their biggest test yet lay in front of them, though.
Oregon hadn’t lost at home in nearly three years. While Kinnick was loud, Autzen is consistently heralded as one of the nation’s rowdiest atmospheres. Ducks head coach Dan Lanning led them to a Big Ten title in 2024 and early returns suggested a repeat was possible.
Cignetti doesn’t care about history.
All of Indiana’s previous showings on big stages under Cignetti fused together. The end result: The biggest win in program history, a 30-20 victory over No. 3 Oregon. It handled the noise, dominated in the trenches and leaned on its star players in key moments.
“We’re a real team,” quarterback Fernando Mendoza said postgame. “We’re not just a one-hit wonder.”
Fernando Mendoza ran the offense with confidence and precision, leading a go-ahead touchdown drive immediately after throwing a pick-six. He played smart, disciplined and poised. Indiana’s offensive line allowed Roman Hemby to bulldoze his way into the end zone twice while the defensive line sacked Oregon quarterback Dante Moore six times.
The Ducks’ offensive line had only allowed one sack in five games prior to Saturday, but they had no answers for Indiana, especially in the second half. Oregon gained a measly 64 yards after halftime, 23 of which came in garbage time. It did not score an offensive touchdown and its only scoring drive went for 22 yards and ended in a field goal. Indiana defensive coordinator Bryant Haines’ gameplan stymied Oregon in a way few ever have in the Lanning era.
The Hoosiers were fast, physical and relentless on both ends of the football. Elijah Sarratt shined when the lights were brightest for the third game in a row, catching the go-ahead touchdown pass and celebrating by breaking the Oregon “O” in half.
Indiana has never been here before. The Hoosiers were winless (0-46) on the road against top-five opponents before Saturday. Their victory over Oregon catapulted them to No. 3 in the AP poll — their highest ranking ever — while they received first-place votes for the first time since 1967.
Cignetti doesn’t care about history.
He preaches no self-imposed limitations. Rather than accept that Indiana will never be anything more than a pushover, he asks, “Why not Indiana?”
Sophomores at Indiana University have yet to see their team lose a home football game, which is a far cry from my sophomore year to say the least. Indiana has gone from scraping by against bottom-of-the-barrel MAC teams to making a case for a No. 1 ranking, a spot in the Big Ten Championship game and a first-round bye in the CFP.
Perhaps an overlooked aspect of this whirlwind is that Cignetti has ruined expectations for every turnaround moving forward. This is far from how turnarounds normally go. Usually they’re slow and methodical, not meteoric and mind-bending, but Cignetti doesn’t put a cap on what’s possible in Bloomington. He is an exception, not the rule.
Cignetti said when he was hired that he was going to change the way people think about Indiana football, and he’s done so in spades less than two years into his tenure. People went from laughing at his statements because of how absurd they seemed to putting him at the top of seemingly every coaching search around.
Keep dreaming, Penn State.
There’s a long way to go, but it’s entirely possible that Cignetti has a statue outside Memorial Stadium after he retires. Why would he leave?
Photos: No. 7 Indiana 30, No. 3 Oregon 20
