“Start the dynasty of Indiana as it moves forward”: College football playoff appearance marks a stepping stone for the future potential of the Indiana football program

Arguably one of the biggest storied teams of the 2024 college football season has had its season come to a close.

Indiana football faced off against in-state team Notre Dame in the opening round of the 2024 CFB Playoffs, taking on the Fighting Irish in a difficult road environment.

In addition to the crazed Notre Dame fans inside Notre Dame Stadium, a true difficulty arose in the frigid temperatures. The thermometer showed 28 degrees at kickoff, with a windchill of 19 degrees, while wind gusts were 19 miles per hour.

Aside from these potential troubles, things looked bright for Indiana at the beginning of the game. After going three and out on its first offensive drive, Indiana’s defense compensated for the rough offensive start to the game.

Sophomore defensive back D’Angelo Ponds intercepted Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard, putting Indiana in Notre Dame territory.

Ponds had two interceptions on the season going into the game, collecting both against Washington.

Ponds’ efforts were quickly erased as Kurtis Rourke threw an interception which led to Notre Dame scoring touchdowns on back to back drives.

Indiana was never able to recover from its early offensive collapse, punting or turning the ball over on seven of its eleven offensive drives throughout the game.

Indiana’s defense couldn’t make up for its offensive struggles, allowing Notre Dame to score on five of its ten offensive drives.

There was a handful of team struggles throughout the game for Indiana. Despite the team struggles, Notre Dame’s offensive and defensive scheme appeared to be lightyears ahead of Indiana, eliminating Indiana from contention of the game from an early standpoint.

Following the game, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti credited Notre Dame and its quarterback for their strong performance.

“It’s easy to say we didn’t play our best game, but a lot of that was probably because of who we played. I thought Riley Leonard was excellent handling the pressure, getting rid of the ball.”

While ending the season with a demoralizing loss is extremely hard to take in, the jump Cignetti and Indiana’s football program took in such a short period of time is a major milestone.

Cignetti reflected on the historic season he and his team put together, highlighting some of the major feats the team accomplished.

“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. So set the foundation for hopefully what’s to come.”

Cignetti was absolutely correct with his statement.

In his first year as head coach of the program, Cignetti took over a team that went 3-9 in 2023 with just one conference win under Tom Allen, to coaching the team to 11 regular season wins in 2024, only losing to ranked Ohio State in the regular season.

Not only did Cignetti completely rebuild the success of Indiana football, but he fully changed the mindset of players within the programs and recruits.

Indiana running back Justice Ellison was one of the many players who thoroughly loved the culture of Indiana football that Cignetti has built, even though he only played one season at Indiana.

The loss against Notre Dame will go down as Ellison’s final game of his collegiate career. The fifth year running back commented on how special the bond has been between him and Indiana football.

“I think the foundation is something that I wanted to start. Leave a legacy with the guys that come in every single day working hard, loving each other, sacrificing — blood, sweat, tears, every single day. And I plan to come back and see how far the foundation has grown.”

Ellison finished the game with 11 carries for 37 rushing yards, also grabbing two receptions for six yards.

Similar to Ellison, the loss was also Rourke’s final game of his collegiate career.

Rourke expressed his emotions towards the games result, citing his high hopes for the future of the program.

“Although it wasn’t the way we wanted to end it, glad we were able to do it together and kind of start the dynasty of Indiana as it moves forward. And I was looking forward to watching it, but it really hasn’t set in for me that this was it for me in college. But it definitely hurts.”

Rourke closed out the game passing for 215 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, completing 20-of-33 passes.

With the support of current and former players, the only thing Cignetti and his staff can do is start planning for the future.

Cignetti has already began looking ahead, discussing how as soon as he gets back on campus, he will dive back into recruiting.

“Everything is about recruitment and development and not retention. Every year you’ve got to start over now in college football… we’ll get back at 3:50 in the morning. We have seven recruits on campus tomorrow morning on official visits.”

Now with a full season under his belt, Cignetti has his eyes on the 2025 season, ready to use the experiences from this season to build a better future for the Indiana football program.

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