Indiana just did the unthinkable - a national championship run with a roster that, on paper, wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near the podium. And the man at the center of it all?
Curt Cignetti, a coach who inherited a 3-9 team just two seasons ago and turned it into a perfect 16-0 juggernaut. That’s not just a turnaround - that’s a seismic shift.
Naturally, comparisons are flying, and one name keeps coming up: Deion Sanders. Colorado also went 3-9 this season, Sanders’ third at the helm.
The juxtaposition is hard to ignore. Both coaches stepped into struggling programs.
One just lifted a trophy. The other is still searching for traction.
Former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho didn’t hold back in laying it all out on his Speakeasy podcast. He framed it bluntly: Cignetti, a relatively unknown figure when he took the Indiana job, made bold promises - and delivered. “Like Curt Cignetti is kind of a goofy, awkward, no-name at the time guy who was talking that cash but backed it up,” Acho said, pointing to Cignetti’s track record at James Madison and now Indiana.
But the real mic-drop moment came when Acho tackled the argument that it’s simply harder to win at Colorado. “For people saying it’s Colorado, it’s hard to win there.
It’s harder to win at Indiana,” he said. That’s not just a hot take - it’s a challenge to the narrative.
And it’s part of why Oregon’s Dan Lanning emphasized being “rooted in substance,” according to Acho.
Nick Wright echoed similar thoughts on First Things First. “What Curt Cignetti just did is what I think some people dreamed was what Deion was going to do,” Wright said.
He gave Sanders credit where it’s due - taking Colorado from 1-11 in 2022 to 4-8 in his first year and 9-4 in his second. But this past season?
A harsh regression. Three wins.
No rhythm at quarterback, even with five-star phenom Julian Lewis in the fold.
The issue hasn’t been effort - Sanders has been aggressive in reshaping the roster. He brought in 42 players via the transfer portal this offseason, clearly aiming to replicate Cignetti’s formula: find undervalued talent, build a culture, and win. But so far, the results haven’t matched the ambition.
Meanwhile, Cignetti’s blueprint is built on development, not stars. Monday night’s championship roster featured just two four-star recruits.
The rest? Three-stars.
Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza? A three-star.
Wideouts Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr.? Three-stars.
Center Pat Coogan? Same story.
Indiana’s recruiting classes under Cignetti haven’t cracked the top 20 - 247Sports had them at No. 39 in 2023, No. 46 in 2024, and No. 23 for the incoming class.
Compare that to the names Sanders has brought in: Danny Scudero from San Jose State, who led the FBS with 1,291 receiving yards. Four-star wideout DeAndre Moore Jr.
Linebacker Liona Lefau. Safety Boo Carter from Tennessee.
On paper, it looks like a winning hand.
But as Acho pointed out, the scoreboard tells a different story. While Sanders has undeniably boosted Colorado’s profile - ticket sales, national attention, even academics - the bottom line is the bottom line: “The fact of the matter is Colorado didn’t win anything meaningful.”
Cignetti, with four decades of coaching experience, has built something sustainable. Sanders is still in the early chapters of his head coaching journey.
The question now isn’t whether Deion can copy Cignetti’s blueprint - it’s whether the foundation in Boulder is ready to support it. Because building a contender takes more than star power.
It takes substance. And right now, Indiana’s got it.