Indiana football changed the narrative around the program and ‘laid the foundation’ this year. But, 2025 provides even greater challenges because ‘now the standards are up’

Nobody knew what to expect when Indiana football hired Curt Cignetti back in December of 2023. The sentiment was that Indiana would find some success, but as the clock hit all zero’s on Friday night in the College Football Playoff, that type of success was clearly understated. A team that had nine wins over the previous three years combined finished with an 11-2 record and a spot in the first-ever 12-team playoff. But, after a 27-17 loss to the Irish, what’s in store for Indiana moving forward?

Curt Cignetti knew he’d bring success to Bloomington and knew he’d be able to do it right away. Not only did he bring in a core group of players he’d been with at James Madison for the last three or four years, he brought with him the coaching staff that had also been with him for that span — or longer.

The system was in place. The scheme was in place. The players were in place. Everything he and Indiana football needed to be successful in year one was there. And, that success has now set the foundation for what to expect moving forward.

While the 11-2 record and College Football Playoff appearance may not be able to be fully replicated in the same light, it’s certainly an expectation and a standard for Indiana to try to reach year in and year out.

“I think you just try to build off of it,” IU defensive coordinator Bryant Haines said. “I think what we have here is a foundation. I think that — I told some of the guys that are hurting in that locker room, like, we built something here. This is a building block. This is a foundation that’s laid. And now the standards are up.”

That foundation was laid despite constant criticism from the outside. Whether it was Indiana’s strength of schedule or lack of top-25 opponents, there was always an ‘Indiana vs Everyone’ type mindset in Bloomington. That underdog mentality and chip on their shoulder won’t be going away, however.

If anything, it’ll get stronger after the naive statements from members of the national media in the days following IU’s loss to Notre Dame.

“You are what your record says you are. So, 11-2. Tied for second in the Big Ten. Made the College Football Playoff. And packed the stadium. Made a lot of people proud. And had a historic season,” Cignetti said. “So set the foundation for hopefully what’s to come.”

While the new era certainly arrived quickly at Indiana, next year will be another ‘new era’. Most of this year’s roster will be gone — in terms of the main nucleus that set those new standards. But, that won’t change anything — and again, if anything, strengthen the core that was here in 2024 to prove it wasn’t a fluke season.

“You look at the track that Indiana football is on previously before we got here. Then you look now, it’s kind of a full 180,” Indiana linebacker Aiden Fisher said. “I think we’ve laid a foundation of what Indiana football can be and what it is now, and I expect to be right back here next year.”

For Haines — who will be losing quite a bit from one of the nation’s top defenses this season — he’ll also be bringing back the leader of that group; Aiden Fisher. Fisher, who announced his return to Indiana this week, is the main piece that Haines and Indiana will build around on that side of the ball. The All-American linebacker has been in this system with Haines and Cignetti for three years and knows the ins and outs of the system as well as his coaches.

So, for anyone coming in to replace guys like James Carpenter, CJ West, Jailin Walker and others — what’s going to be the message?

“I’m going to say this is Indiana football, Indiana defense. Do you want to be a part of this,” Haines said firmly. “We stop the run. We harass quarterbacks. Tonight doesn’t change that. Yeah, that’s what I’m going to tell recruits.”

Indiana football. That now is going to resonate with recruits and not just locally. Whether it’s in high school or in the transfer portal, the 2024 season has flipped the narrative around the program.

And it was certainly felt inside the locker room as well.

“I think I’ll look back and just remember how much they’ve changed things. And, again, this is coming from a guy that was here before,” Haines said — who previously worked on IU’s staff as a graduate assistant in 2012. “I was in those locker rooms. I was at Indiana. I know what it meant to be an Indiana football player in 2012. It’s a different era now, and these guys changed it forever.”

Now in 2025, Indiana will no longer be the hunter — it’ll be the hunted. How will it respond? Time will tell, but the messaging from the coaching staff won’t be one of ‘we have arrived’.

Repetition and consistency is what will give Indiana football more credibility as a national program. Another big season next year will be more telling than this year was.

“All good things come to an end. And when you’re my age, you’ve seen it all,” Cignetti said. “I have a lot of guys hurting in there but a part of life is learning how to deal with disappointment the proper way and come back a stronger person because of the experience. You never get everything you want in life. That’s how life is.

“We’ve got a good nucleus coming back, and we’ll be okay.”

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