Curt Cignetti eager to end Indiana’s 58-year Big Ten Title drought
Indiana Coach Curt Cignetti addresses reporters from the podium at the 2025 Big Ten Media Days. (Lynn Harrington/stayaliveinpower5)
BLOOMINGTON — Although the Hoosiers haven’t won a Big Ten Title since 1967, their head coach feels they have the perfect opportunity to end the drought for many reasons.
Indiana has yet to lose a game this season, ranks No. 2 in the nation and has a Heisman contender at quarterback, which is why Curt Cignetti believes his team is starting to crack the surface of their potential. However, Cignetti understands in order to reach Big Ten supremacy, the Hoosiers will have to take down the reigning National Champs, and they are currently riding a 16-game win streak.
Ohio State throttled Indiana 38-15 at the Horseshoe last season, but this time around Cignetti is confident that his players will be ready. After all, Lucas Oil Stadium will be like a home game for the Hoosiers, considering the venue is an hour drive away from campus. Cignetti is expecting a huge crowd from Indiana fans on Saturday night, which should give his squad inspiration.
“It’s going to be a great atmosphere, I think you’re playing this game for a reason, the Big Ten Championship means an awful lot, and the way you play should mean something,” Cignetti said. “It’ll be the last thing we do on the field, and I don’t expect any doubts because we’ve earned everything up to this point, and we got to earn it on Saturday.”
The No. 1 overall seed in the College Football Playoffs is at stake, despite the fact that both teams will likely receive a first-round bye, even with a loss. Cignetti thinks his players have learned a lot from last year’s loss to Ohio State and Notre Dame, so they’re approaching this matchup feeling like they still have something to prove.
“We’re treating this like a one-game season, it’s the next opponent and if we get done what we want to get done, we won’t play again for 30 days,” he said. “So there’ll be plenty of time to recover from our bumps and bruises.”
Leading the team to their first 12-0 start in school history, means the Hoosiers are finally getting the respect, and credibility they deserve after being in the Big Ten cellar for decades. In Cignetti’s eyes, everything is starting to come full circle for the program, and the sky’s the limit to what Indiana can accomplish.
Quarterback Fernando Mendoza is having a stellar campaign, and is currently the Heisman favorite. He even earned the league’s Quarterback of the Year honors this week, along with first-team, All-Big Ten selection. Elijah Surratt is Mendoza’s go-to target, and the wideout has the speed and athletic ability to stretch the field on defenses.
It just so happens that the Buckeyes have the best defense in the FBS, and they attack from all angles. Mendoza will need to keep his head on a swivel, and make smart decisions with the football going up against a unit that’s tenacious. Indiana isn’t backing down though, and already put together clutch outings in road wins at Iowa, Oregon and Penn State.
Regardless of the matter, Ohio State will be the biggest test of the season for Indiana, and Cignetti is looking forward to matching wits with Ryan Day. Last year’s humbling loss to the Buckeyes is now in the rearview mirror, and this Hoosier team is out to avenge their only blemish during the regular season in 2024.
“I think while that was not an enjoyable experience, it was an experience that was necessary for our growth and development to go out in a hostile environment like Ohio State and play a team of that quality,” the 64-year old said. “We were able to add some key pieces to this year’s team, some veterans that played a lot of football and been in those environments.”
The Hoosiers are the underdogs in this matchup too, which they’re using as motivation. Bottom line, Saturday night can’t get here fast enough for the College Football world to see which team are the true top dogs in the FBS.
