ATLANTA – Throughout its movie script-worthy season, Indiana football players and coaches have stuck to a simple philosophy while taking the program to historic heights and garnering more national attention than ever before. As the accolades and praise have piled up, their messaging has remained constant: What’s done is done. The upcoming game is now the biggest game and the sole target of all focus and attention.
It starts at the top with newly-crowned Dodd Trophy winner Curt Cignetti. The Indiana head coach, who added to his slew of national coach of the year honors on Thursday, keeps the same approach whether he’s preparing for Kennesaw State in week two or for a rematch versus Oregon in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on Friday, Jan. 9.
“Confidence and belief come from when you’re prepared,” Cignetti said on Saturday. “That’s why it’s important to have a blueprint and a plan. This business is all about development, recruiting and retention.”
He continued, emphasizing the importance of high standards and organization-wide accountability. “Got to have the right people on your staff and in the locker room,” Cignetti said. “And you improve every single day.”
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The formula has worked thus far. Indiana is unblemished, building confidence through each of its 14 wins, only four of which have been by 10 points or less.
Cignetti has taken the undefeated Hoosiers to the top by stalking complacency and never being satisfied. It starts with stacking days of preparation, which leads to a higher chance of success on the field. That tangible success breeds confidence and the cycle takes on a snowball effect.
“That’s the way it’s worked for us,” Cignetti said. “It’s always been in the here and now, controlling the controllables, focused on your preparation, eliminating the noise and the clutter so that you go in 100 percent prepared, which gives you the best chance of being successful.”
As is evident from their on-field performance this season, the players have fully bought in.
“When I step on that field, I am confident, as I know that my preparation is unmatched,” quarterback Fernando Mendoza said on Wednesday. “I’m confident that my process has taken me here and that I can compete at the highest level.”
Even as Indiana has added Grand Canyon-sized notches to its belt, including but not limited to a Big Ten Championship, a Heisman Trophy winner in Mendoza and a dominant Rose Bowl win over No. 9 Alabama, Cignetti’s demeanor has remained largely unchanged. He’s become even more wary of the fact that every forthcoming opponent will give Indiana its best shot in an attempt to play spoiler.
He’ll crack the occasional smile and, on extremely rare occasions such as Indiana’s first-ever win at Penn State, hint at shedding a tear. Other than that, he’s laser-focused on the next task.
“You get better, you get worse,” Cignetti said on Thursday. “You never stay the same. You’ve got to keep that edge.”
It’s not from a novel concept within the program.
“Rip off the rearview mirror,” Cignetti said on Oct. 13, two days after Indiana beat Oregon in Eugene to cement its status as a Big Ten frontrunner. “We’re in a production-oriented business. What we did yesterday doesn’t mean squat.”
A recent Q&A published in The Athletic describes Cignetti as “never happy,” and the two-time defending Walter Camp Coach of the Year added some context to that claim.
“There’s a lot of times I am happy, I just don’t show I’m happy,” he said, adding that it would be hypocritical for him to be seen celebrating on the sideline while asking his players to treat every play of every game the same regardless of the competitive circumstances.
Gesturing to Oregon’s Dan Lanning, Cignetti added that his stone-cold appearance is a byproduct of head coaches being tasked with making important game-management decisions. He called a timeout before a crucial defensive fourth down in the first half against Alabama on Jan. 1, which ultimately led to a turnover on downs, a short field and a touchdown that gave Indiana a 10-0 lead.
“You’ve got to be dialed in and thinking ahead,” Cignetti said. “I’ll smile and celebrate later in the coaches’ room with the coaches, maybe have a beer.”
Maybe more celebrations will be in order after No. 1 Indiana (14-0) and No. 5 Oregon (13-1) meet in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl with a spot in the national title game on the line. That isn’t on anyone’s mind just yet.
“Right now it’s all about Oregon,” linebacker Aiden Fisher said on Wednesday. “I don’t think anybody could tell you where the National Championship is right now. It’s all about being in Atlanta, playing in this game, taking advantage of the opportunity.”
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
“One thing we get a lot of flack for is not being able to appreciate the moment,” Fisher said. “I think that’s what makes us so driven and motivated. We just want to be in the now.”
