The Hoosiers are for real, but going 1-0 this week is all that matters

I’ve been an Indiana football fan my whole life, enduring decades of a program that was the joke of college football — years of futility and a four-wins per-season average, before Curt Cignetti arrived. The Hoosiers had not won a Big Ten title outright since 1945 or shared one since 1967. (And still haven’t.) 

Our last bowl win? 1991. 

October 11 at Oregon’s Autzen Stadium, Indiana rewrote the punchline, demolishing the No. 3 Oregon Ducks 30-20 in a victory that isn’t just historic — it served notice that the Hoosiers are legitimate national contenders.

Now, as Cignetti urged in a Monday media availability, is the time to “rip off the rearview mirror” and respond. Shut out the distraction and “go 1-0 this week,” in a homecoming showdown against Michigan State on Saturday.

The Hoosiers stormed Eugene. From the opening snap, Indiana imposed its will. The IU defense, among the nation’s best, sacked Oregon quarterback Dante Moore on the game’s first play.

Indiana (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) ended Oregon’s nation-leading 18-game home win streak, securing IU’s first-ever road win over an AP top-five opponent. The victory lifted IU to No. 3 in the AP poll, highest in program history. 

Better than an upset, this was domination. IU held Oregon’s explosive attack to its fewest yards of total offense under head coach Dan Lanning and fewest yards (247) since 2021 — and a measly 3-of-14 third-down conversions, while snagging two interceptions. 

Oregon’s only second-half touchdown? A pick-six, not an offensive score. 

“Defensively, we were tremendous,” Cignetti said. Offensively, Heisman-candidate quarterback Fernando Mendoza dazzled, completing 20 of 31 passes for 215 yards and an eight-yard, go-ahead touchdown to Elijah Sarratt with six minutes to play. 

Despite the pick-six that briefly tied the score, Mendoza responded with a 12-play, 75-yard drive for the decisive score. 

Even with six false starts in Autzen’s deafening environment, IU’s discipline shone through. “We responded to their scores with two long drives,” Cignetti said, highlighting also a 24-second, two-minute drill before halftime that led to a 58-yard field goal, swinging momentum and sending IU into a 13-10 halftime advantage.

Last season’s 11-2 record and College Football Playoff berth felt miraculous, but skeptics called it a fluke, citing losses to eventual national champ Ohio State and runner-up Notre Dame. 

Nobody’s dismissing IU now. The win at Oregon, following a 63-10 rout of then-No. 9 Illinois and a gritty victory at Iowa, gives Indiana the nation’s current strongest “SOR” resume. 

At 17-2 under Cignetti, the Hoosiers have flipped basketball-crazed Bloomington on its head. 

Cignetti, who earned 2024 Coach of the Year honors, might be the best in the game again in ‘25. Other coaches inherit blue-bloods; Cig took a program with over 700 losses, the most in FBS history, and turned it into a powerhouse. 

From his brash arrival, declaring “Purdue sucks, but so does Michigan and Ohio State,” to his “Google me, I win” mantra, he’s backed every word.

“We’re not just a one-hit wonder,” he said during Saturday’s post-Oregon remarks. 

Rip off the rearview mirror

And all of that means nothing — now as the team prepares for Michigan State. The two schools first played in 1922, with the first edition of the Old Brass Spittoon rivalry taking place in 1950. Indiana has won three of the last five meetings.

“This game gives you nothing. You got to earn everything,” Cignetti said Monday stressing a “humble and hungry” mindset.

Right now Indiana must respond well, focusing on the task at hand: beat the Spartans. As I head to Memorial Stadium, I’m convinced that this Indiana team can go far.

Cignetti’s team, with its veteran leaders and relentless work ethic, is chasing history.

With each week IU is proving that 2024 was more than just a nice Cinderella tale. This program, once a laughingstock, is now, in Cignetti’s words, “the emerging superpower of college football.” 

Let’s go 1-0 this week.