The Indiana football Hoosiers have the opportunity to finish the regular season 12-0. It’s never happened before and only Purdue stands in the way.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Message creates belief, belief fuels execution. Execution validates message.

Curt Cignetti took over a rudderless Indiana football program with the most all-time losses in FBS history. At his introductory press conference, before coaching a single game, Cignetti said these words: “I win. Google me.”

In July of 2024, the Big Ten media picked Indiana to finish second-to-last in the 18-team conference. For a program coming off a 3-9 campaign, the prediction seemed about right.

Two years later, Cig is 23-2 at IU, his Hoosiers are ranked #2 and look like a lock to clinch back-to-back College Football Playoff appearances. (Earlier this season, the Hoosiers relinquished the “most losses” distinction to Northwestern. Kudos, Mildcats!)

This transformation started with a message that made Indiana football players believe they could execute at a level nobody (well, only Cignetti) saw coming.

It was Cig’s prophetic, hilarious boast on December 1, 2023, during his introduction as the new Indiana football coach at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. He was speaking to the crowd at a men’s basketball game between Indiana and Maryland:

“I’ve never taken a backseat to anybody and don’t plan on starting now. Purdue sucks, but so does Michigan and Ohio State.” Not “hopefully.” Not “we’ll see.” Not “we’re building toward something.”

A clear standard. No ambiguity. No hedge.

That, my friends, is what separates message clarity from message confusion. In any field. Most CEOS coming in to triage a bad situation or coaches taking over losing programs talk about “culture building” and “process” and “competing.” Generic, noncommittal language that signals… maybe I’m not in this deep/for long.

No, Cignetti stated what would happen.

Now, messaging alone doesn’t win football games, or ship widgets, or raise a stock price. Strategy and execution and talent do. Cignetti got his personnel believing they could deliver. That they had to only focus and then go out and prove it, over and over.

But back to football: Cignetti’s primary message: “Go 1-0 this week.” He says it before every game.

After beating #3 Oregon on the road at Autzen Stadium, one of the toughest places to win in the country: “Rip off the rearview mirror.” Don’t dwell on success. Focus on next task.

Before the Penn State win, FOX Sports’ Jenny Taft: “Indiana has never won here.”

Cig: “This team has never played here.”

Present-moment focus only. And, after the Hoosiers’ gotta-have-it, game-winning final drive at Happy Valley (80 yards, 75 seconds, no timeouts), where IU had never won before in 19 tries:

“We refused to lose.” Culture statement about who they are today.

To his team constantly: “Never too high, never too low. Not affected by success, not affected by failure.”

These are the same messages in different forms: disciplined focus, resilience, execution right now.

It’s also message discipline. One core truth repeated in different contexts. The team heard it often, understanding they could get it done under any circumstance. They won late at Iowa. They dominated at Oregon. And never doubted at Penn State, when the situation was dire.

Let’s return for a moment to that introductory press conference: “I win. Google me.” Then they go out and post an 11-1 first season with the unlikely CFP berth (and loss to Notre Dame).

For this perennial doormat of a program, until Cignetti arrived, the next message from him, during the offseason before Year 2 (this year) – “We’re the emerging superpower of college football.”

Notice what he didn’t say: “We had a solid season, let’s see if we can build on it.” He escalated the claim BEFORE proving it the second time.

Most people would call this risky. After one good year, play it safe. Don’t give critics ammunition. Don’t create pressure. Cignetti went in another direction. He used the credibility from Year 1 to make a bigger claim for Year 2. That message created expectation.

Of course they delivered on it which validates the words. It doesn’t always go this way but in this instance the IU players had to believe they could meet that expectation through execution. And they have.

They are.

Now they are ranked #2 with Heisman candidate Fernando Mendoza at quarterback — with a nation-leading streak of 15 consecutive home wins — playing at Purdue on Friday for the right to advance to the B1G championship game. I’ll be there December 6.

Escalating the message after initial success is strategic. It raises the bar before somebody else decides what even is the bar.

Two years ago, fewer than 10,000 fans showed up to IU games. Now every game sells out, and players and fans are part of something historic. Been a long time coming, but that belief/execution validates the message.

Because here’s the test: Message without execution is just empty words. Execution without message goes undernoticed. Message+belief+execution — this is the thing that transforms.

Indiana and Cignetti are succeeding in a lot of ways. They are also getting that message sequence right.

As another IU legend, also pretty good at messaging, might say, “Most people have the will to win, few have the will to prepare to win.” Bob Knight’s 1976 IU basketball team ran the table and won it all — the last hoops champs to go undefeated.

Cignetti and the Hoosiers can win anywhere, against anyone, in any situation. Can they go 12-0?

Cig’s message: “We’ve already made Indiana history based on Indiana’s football history and what we’ve been able to accomplish in two years. Can we equal the achievement of the basketball team? I guess we’re going to find out.”