Indiana coach Curt Cignetti finishes his masterpiece

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Curt Cignetti came to Indiana to win championships.

The straight-talking, old-school coach who began his tenure with the Hoosiers with the promise of bringing early success to college football’s losingest program completed his masterpiece Monday night, guiding Indiana to a 27-21 victory over Miami in the College Football Playoff finale and the first national championship in school history.

Cignetti accomplished what few imagined he could do – at least not this quickly. But after cashing in on the transfer portal and name, image and likeness money to build a championship team, Cignetti coached the Hoosiers to their first No. 1 ranking, and they completed an undefeated campaign in front of 67,227 fans at Hard Rock Stadium, capping one of the most surprising turnarounds in college football history.

Cignetti – who began his head coaching career at Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2011 – became the first head coach to win a national title in his first or second season with a team since Gene Chizik led Auburn to the championship in 2010.

“How is this moment for me? » said Cignetti. “Back when I was waxing the faculty table on IUP Thanksgiving weekend and school was out for the playoffs…Did I ever think something like this was possible? Probably not. If you keep your nose in life and keep working, anything is possible.”

Cignetti kept working and kept winning with stints at Elon and James Madison before making the jump to the Big Ten and dismissing the doubters by saying, “I’m winning. Google me.”

On Monday night, Cignetti called his team’s performance courageous. He certainly called the game that way with two fourth-down gambles on a fourth-quarter field goal that ended with a bruising touchdown run by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza.

Cignetti went for it on fourth-and-5 from the Miami 37, and the result was a first-down catch by Charlie Becker, who spun around to take a back-shoulder pass for a 19-yard gain.

Next up was a fourth-and-4 call at the 12, which was by far the biggest of the game.

Cignetti sent his kicker first, but then called a timeout. The team huddled on the field and the coach established a coin toss for the quarterback. Mendoza scored, slipping a tackle and weaving his way into the end zone to give the Hoosiers a 10 lead with nine minutes remaining.

“We put it on for this game,” Cignetti said. “It was a quarterback draw, but he was blocked differently. And we rolled the dice and said they were going to be in (the same defense) again. We blocked him well. He broke a tackle or two and got into the end zone.”

The bold call was appropriate, considering the unlikelihood of Indiana playing for the title.

Indiana had never won more than nine games in a season before Cignetti’s arrival two years ago, and in 2022 became the first Bowl Subdivision program to reach 700 losses.

Now the Hoosiers have double-digit wins in two straight years.

Cignetti brought 13 players from JMU to Indiana and saw potential in Mendoza, a transfer from California.

“Coach Cig changed my life,” said standout linebacker Aiden Fisher, who followed Cignetti from JMU. “From a kid who felt like I was under-recruited, that I deserved more attention than I was getting. … The trust that he built in me, the trust and belief that he had in me – I mean, why would you leave that? When a coach cares that much about you and sees so much for your future. He talked about development and growth for me all the time. It was a no-brainer. I owe him a lot. He’s an incredible coach, but he’s an incredible person.