History

On being an Indiana Hoosiers football fan, Part 4    Part 3 is here

For years, my fraternity brother Don and I have exchanged annual predictions about Indiana football’s win total. Often an exercise in futility, he and I would exchange off-season texts arguing how THIS is the year that the Hoosiers are finally going to break the cycle of mediocrity.

Don’s predictions run higher than mine, though we usually land about one win apart. After last year’s 3-9 finish, Don called for 7-5 while I saw us going 6-6, adding “we’ll be fun and underestimated.”

In the entire world, only Cig had us in double figures in wins, which has never happened before in Indiana’s history. He was right.

“Cig” would be the Hoosiers’ first-year head coach Curt Cignetti, who told his wife he “saw 10 wins” when they were reviewing the 2024 schedule together.

Last Saturday night in freezing Bloomington, the Indiana football Hoosiers made history — dominating Purdue, 66-0, capping their best regular season ever, at 11-1 (8-1 in B1G). Not just any win, but the most lopsided victory in the 125-year Indiana-Purdue series history, the most crushing defeat in Purdue football history, and the first IU shutout of the Boilermakers since World War II. 

Indiana’s landmark 2024 season emerged from three key changes. Cignetti’s hiring proved transformative – the former James Madison coach leveraged his experience to build a winning roster through transfers, including quarterback Kurtis Rourke (Ohio U), running back Justice Ellison (Wake Forest) and several defensive starters.

IU’s aggressive NIL strategy and strategic use of the transfer portal attracted talent previously out of reach. Meanwhile, the Big Ten’s elimination of divisions reshaped IU’s path forward.

While CFP onlookers right now question IU’s schedule strength, truth is that the reduced frequency of games against Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State made Indiana more appealing to Cignetti and created a clearer path to on-field success, well before the season even began.

The Hoosiers are safely in the College Football Playoff, awaiting only the results of this weekend’s conference championship games. This is truly stunning given IU’s hideous past, its record as D1’s losingest program (we’re coming for you, Northwestern). IU’s only Rose Bowl appearance came in January 1968, a 14-3 loss to USC and its star, OJ Simpson.

The doubters have been on us all season. What have all of “the Joey Galloways” said before each big win? “IU’s schedule is soft. This next game is their first real test.” They said it before UCLA, before Maryland, before Nebraska, before Washington, before Michigan. 

They’re saying it now.

IU’s lone loss at Ohio State came down to two costly punt-team plays. No excuses here; they were the better team, that day. But what happened next revealed a lot.

Leading 31-15 with only seconds remaining, OSU reinforced its well-earned reputation as the sport’s biggest jerks. After downing the ball at Indiana’s 1-yard line, the Buckeyes faked the Victory formation to score an unnecessary touchdown on their final offensive play. Said head coach Ryan Day, “When you’re The Ohio State University, you leave no doubt.”

Karma is a bitch, Ryan. 

Days later, OSU and its Hair Club for Men leader Day suffered a humiliating home loss to Michigan that has damaged its playoff standing, followed by an embarrassing postgame brawl that reinforced the program’s longtime lock in college football as The Entitled Douchebag University.

Ironically, Indiana’s performance in the loss at Columbus helped secure our playoff spot, with the selection committee chairman noting IU “did enough.” Translation: the Hoosiers proved they’re a solid one-loss team that will do no harm to the committee’s precious TV event.

Meanwhile on Saturday vs. Purdue, we took care of business.

Two weeks from now, Cignetti, newly named Big 10 Coach of the Year [and let’s be real, Cig deserves national COY for reviving Indiana football], will lead my school into the College Football Playoff bracket before stalwarts Iowa, Minnesota, Purdue, Wisconsin, UCLA or USC ever got the chance.

“We’re the emerging superpower in college football,” Cig has declared. Looking at what his players have achieved, who can doubt him?

During this historic IU football run, the one we’ve waited 57 seasons for, Don and I have traded many texts and calls – but none about our erroneous predictions. (Feels great to have guessed so wrong.) 

We are finally witnessing football excellence at Indiana. I can hardly believe it and never thought it would happen. And we aren’t finished yet.