Curt Cignetti has only been in Bloomington for just over two years, but what he’s done with Indiana football in that short span is nothing short of remarkable. Hired on November 23, 2023, Cignetti inherited a program long seen as an afterthought in the Big Ten. Now, he’s coaching a team that’s one win away from a championship-and he’s doing it with the same no-nonsense approach he’s carried throughout his career.
As the Hoosiers prepare for their biggest game in decades-a Monday night showdown against the Miami Hurricanes-Cignetti is leaning on a familiar mantra to keep his players grounded: ignore the noise.
“There’s a lot of pro-Indiana hype, a lot of rat poison,” Cignetti said during a recent press conference, borrowing a phrase made famous by Nick Saban, under whom he coached at Alabama from 2007 to 2010. For Saban, “rat poison” meant the distractions that come with praise and media attention.
For Cignetti, it’s the same deal-he doesn’t want his team getting caught up in the feel-good narratives or the sentimental stories. Not with a title on the line.
“I did see Holly Rowe’s social media piece… there has been a lot of sentimentalism… it’s time to throw that out,” he said. “You don’t go to war with warm milk and cookies.”
That’s classic Cignetti-sharp, focused, and unwilling to let his team lose its edge. And it’s exactly that mindset that’s helped Indiana go from a perennial Big Ten bottom-feeder to a legitimate contender in just over two seasons.
The Hoosiers haven’t just improved-they’ve transformed. They're more physical, more disciplined, and they believe they belong on the big stage.
But Cignetti isn’t interested in moral victories or media love. He’s not here for the underdog story.
He’s here to win. And to do that, Indiana will need to put aside the headlines and lock in for four quarters against a tough Miami squad.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. One more win, and Cignetti’s message will ring even louder: sentimentality doesn’t win championships-execution does.