Following Curt Cignetti’s ‘blueprint,’ Indiana football completes historic first half

On December 20, 2023, Curt Cignetti made a statement that’s followed him ever since.

Less than three weeks earlier, he officially took over as Indiana’s head football coach, and displayed extreme confidence seldom associated with the program he was joining. His introductory press conference on December 1 — along with his brash comments to the crowd at the IU men’s basketball game later that day — kicked off an offseason spent reinvigorating a fan base longing for gridiron success.

But his line during the Early Signing Day press conference became the quote printed on posters and slapped over social media graphics for the next 10 months and counting.

“I win. Google me.”

Halfway through his first season in Bloomington, Cignetti has managed to back that up.

He’s led Indiana to a start that only the most optimistic fans — and IU players and staff — saw as a plausible scenario entering the year: the Hoosiers are 6-0, the first team in the nation to secure bowl eligibility. It’s the program’s best start to a season in 57 years, and its best-ever start in its first year with a new head coach.

In less than a full calendar year, Cignetti has pumped both talent and belief into Indiana football that the program hasn’t seen in decades. He’s helped transform the Hoosiers from a Big Ten cellar dwellar into a top-25 team with a realistic path to 10 or 11 wins, which would rank among the greatest seasons in program history.

Cignetti has turned around programs at previous stops in his career at Elon and James Madison, and he has Indiana on the same trajectory.

“This is culture and mindset,” Cignetti said after Saturday’s win at Northwestern. “When you take over a program, the No. 1 thing you got to do is change the way people think. The way you play the game, your expectation level, your standards, how you do things, the fan base, what to expect, you’ve got to change the way people think. So we have a blueprint, we have a way we play, we’ve got character, we’ve got some talent. And they’re playing like all of our other teams have played in those situations.”

Indiana’s six wins haven’t been lucky, in any way. The Hoosiers aren’t narrowly pulling out these games. They’re not relying on fluky plays or favorable officiating. This is just a good football team. IU is among the best in the country in both total offense and total defense, and there’s still room to improve.

Indiana’s defense endured some struggles against Northwestern, as quarterback Jack Lausch caused some problems with his running ability and playmaking instincts. The defense had trouble getting off the field on some third and fourth downs, which kept the game close well into the fourth quarter. Linebacker Jailin Walker left the game with an injury during the first half and missed the remainder of the contest, which also created challenges.

Even with all that, IU minimized damage on many occasions. The Wildcats recorded 336 yards of total offense — the Hoosiers allowed fewer than 340 just twice last season. NU also finished with 93 rushing yards, the fewest by an IU opponent since week two.

Meanwhile, Indiana’s offense looks like an absolute juggernaut. IU has scored 40 points or more in each of the last five games, the first time in program history accomplishing that feat. The offense has consistently answered in big moments, when the team needs a touchdown.

Quarterback Kurtis Rourke has been remarkably efficient and accurate, calmly leading the Hoosiers downfield drive after drive. And his weapons and running back and wide receiver have more than picked up the slack when he’s been a little off. Elijah Sarratt is the Big Ten’s second-leading receiver after Saturday’s game, and has a real chance at becoming the eighth Hoosier to post 1,000 receiving yards in a single season.

Rourke completed 76 percent of his pass attempts against Northwestern — even with strong wind gusts — for 380 yards and three touchdowns. Sarratt caught seven passes for 135 yards. That connection is looking increasingly lethal for Indiana.

“You’ve got two committed, dependable guys,” Cignetti said. “Sarratt, he did maybe have his hands on one today that wasn’t complete. But they certainly do have that trust. But I think he’s got trust with a lot of those wideouts, which is why we’re rolling the way we are.”

The historic start’s obvious flaw is the relatively easy schedule IU has benefitted from. The non-conference slate featured one of the nation’s worst FCS teams and two Group of Five programs who entered Saturday ranked in the bottom 20 of ESPN’s SP+ rankings. The Hoosiers have yet to face a traditional Big Ten football power, and their three conference opponents have come against squads ranked in the bottom half of the Big Ten in the SP+ rankings.

Some fans and analysts may remain skeptical about Indiana until it faces tougher competition. Wins and good performances against Nebraska, Washington, Michigan, and/or Ohio State would see the IU bandwagon grow larger.

But context matters. Indiana has historically been the sort of weak opponent that good — or even average — teams would expect to defeat. The public wouldn’t become convinced of a team’s might just because it beat the Hoosiers; people would need to see more.

This IU team is on the other side of that paradigm.

That’s not enough for Cignetti — he may never be completely satisfied with his team. He could lead IU to a national championship, and he’d still be grinding about something his players could’ve executed even better.

But his Hoosiers are unquestionably off to a historic start, the type that will have fans dreaming big until proven otherwise.

Cignetti will continue preaching that his players avoid the “rat poison,” the outside hype that comes along with the uncharted territory he’s led the program to. The first half of the season has been great, but plenty of challenges await. The schedule gets harder, and fan attention and excitement will soon be split between football and basketball. Eventually, he’ll attempt to snap IU’s 33-year drought without a bowl game victory. He needs his players to remain locked in to overcome those obstacles.

But Curt Cignetti has a blueprint. And through his first six games in Bloomington, there’s no reason to question that plan.

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