Curt Cignetti was a quote machine in his first season as Indiana’s head coach.
During his first couple of months on the job, Cignetti dropped hits like, “I win. Google me,” and “I’ve never taken a backseat to anybody and don’t plan on starting now. Purdue sucks, but so does Michigan and Ohio State.”
Now in the middle of his second season at Indiana, Cignetti admits that some of the forceful comments he made were perhaps a little too much. However, the Indiana head coach also explained on “The Joel Klatt Show” that he felt he had to do some projecting in order to instill life into the program.
“I was kind of out there last year,” Cignetti said. “From Day 1, when I got the job here, there were a lot of things that rubbed me the wrong way. The vibe I was getting — just the general attitude toward football — I felt like I had to shake things up a bit.
“I made some comments that, let’s face it, were a little out of character for me. But I thought that’s what this program needed: someone to carry the flag, lead the charge, set the vision — and not be afraid of the big boys.”
Cignetti’s approach clearly worked. The Hoosiers went 11-2 last season and reached the College Football Playoff, capping one of the most remarkable single-season turnarounds in college football history.
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While Cignetti expressed some discomfort with his past comments, Joel Klatt commended his approach, saying that it “provided a tremendous amount of energy” to the program and gave the players confidence because “their coach believed that they could go out and do it at the highest level.”
Cignetti believed that some of those comments might have been part of the reason why Indiana was overlooked entering the season.
“Last year we were kind of like the media darling, until, you know, the playoff rankings started to come out around Week 9 or 10,” Cignetti said. “I think a lot of people were maybe a little down on us going into the year, because of the way we played against Ohio State and Notre Dame.”
The regular-season loss to Ohio State and falling to Notre Dame in the first round of the College Football Playoff were the only games Indiana played against ranked teams last season, losing by multiple scores in each. This year, though, Indiana has looked a lot better in ranked matchups. It demolished ninth-ranked Illinois, 63-10, in September, before upsetting third-ranked Oregon on the road, 30-20, in arguably the most impressive win of the college football season.
Those victories helped Indiana move up to No. 3 in the AP Poll, the highest ranking in program history. With the Hoosiers now poised for another College Football Playoff run and possibly a shot at a national title, Cignetti credits this year’s leap to being able to “focus in on coaching football” after spending last season building the foundation.
Indiana appears to be laying the groundwork for sustained success. The school extended Cignetti’s contract last year, and some of its wealthiest alumni are donating money to the program. But Cignetti isn’t thinking too far ahead.
“I don’t think that far down the road in terms of perennial this or that. I’m more focused on today and trying to get the most out today, which is Michigan State, and trying to get a few first downs to maybe kick a field goal,” Cignetti said. “But all the oars are paddling in the same direction here, which is important. Our team knows that I have 100 percent commitment to developing this football team to its fullest potential.”
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