FOOTBALL

‘This is a team that’s a little bit on a mission’: Curt Cignetti isn’t surprised by the fast start for IU football — he predicted it day one. And, they’re far from done

IU football has done everything and more that it has set forth to accomplish through five weeks. Undefeated and ranked. What’s next?

Published

2 days ago

October 1, 2024

Alec Lasley

IU football has done everything and more that it has set forth to accomplish through five weeks. Undefeated and ranked. What's next? (Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

IU football heads into week six at 5-0 — the first time in 57 years that the Hoosiers can say that. Saturday’s 42-28 win over Maryland helped Indiana reach that milestone, yet another ‘first’ for the program in quite some time. In just five weeks, the culture and narrative around the program has changed, all at the hands of head coach Curt Cignetti.

But, when asked about it — Cignetti reminds people of what he said on day one — “I win”. There was never a question if Indiana was going to turn things around under Cignetti’s lead, it was more a matter of when. Nobody outside of the program expected a start like this, however.

Nobody even inside the program, to an extent, except for the man who told everyone what was going to happen.

“I’m not surprised,” Cignetti said this week. “I pretty much told everybody when I got hired that this is what was possible, and I felt strongly about that after we brought the 2022 transfers in December and added a few more at the end of spring ball and saw the culture come together the way it did.

“But we had to put it on the field. So I knew it was possible because I’d kind of been a part of something like this before.”

The resume has been discussed — 13 years on the sidelines and 13 winning seasons as a head coach. Cignetti has been consistent in every message he’s relayed. He’s been consistent in every action he’s taken. He’s also turned IU football into a program discussed on a national level.

Whether it is a projection to make the College Football Playoff, a top-25 ranking, shoutouts by ESPN Monday Night Football analyst Joe Buck or ESPN’s Pat McAfee. The IU brand is on a level it hasn’t been in quite some time.

All of that is because of the early success Cignetti is bringing to Bloomington.

“I think people are getting excited,” Cignetti said. “Which is a natural part of that process, too, when you win, right, the stadium fills up more, it gets louder, and the team understands how fragile success can be and how important preparation is on a daily basis and I’m confident we’ll handle today and this week the way we need to.”

The blueprint that Cignetti has referenced numerous times this offseason and this season is clearly coming to light. But, it’s not just X’s and O’s or a specific system he has in place on the field. It goes way beyond that — even with the people he surrounds himself with off the field.

“It’s all about the people you hire and recruit,” Cignetti said. “In recruiting, talent’s important but character is equally important. I sit down with all of them in my office because you want people that can kind of buy into the team concept, understand commitment and discipline, hard work, that are moldable and not necessarily totally self-centered type people. It’s all about people.”

That team mindset has been on full display. It’s evident that his blueprint works.

“You’ve got a blueprint and a plan and you’re creating a culture, an identity and a team mindset,” Cignetti said. “We want to be a tough, physical, relentless competitor that plays really hard one play at a time, smart, disciplined and poised. Never too high, never too low. That’s how all the teams have played. That’s how we’re trying to get this team to play.”

But now what? Indiana wasn’t projected to make a bowl game this offseason. Indiana definitely wasn’t discussed as a potential Playoff team after month one of the season.

So, what’s next? Keep plugging along, because IU football is ‘on a mission’.

“To me, all the areas have to improve because you do get better or you get worse,” Said the IU head coach. “I think we’ve played fairly consistently for the most part in all three phases, but definite improvements that can be made. With every success comes belief, and this is a team that’s a little bit on a mission. Northwestern is the next one up.

“Today’s got to be a great day of preparation, mental and physical preparation for the opponent coming up.”