Curt Cignetti has changed the feel of Indiana football in a hurry, and the results have already put the Hoosiers in the middle of some heavyweight matchups.
A 16-0 National Championship season didn’t just rewrite Indiana’s place in the sport. It also created a fresh set of enemies, with blue blood programs now seeing the Hoosiers as a real problem. Three games, in particular, have started to define the Cignetti era.
Oregon is right at the top of that list.
Dan Lanning’s Ducks have become one of college football’s premier programs, with Lanning going 48-8 in four seasons at Oregon. But Indiana got the better of them twice on the way to its title run last season, and those losses clearly left a mark in Eugene.
The first came on October 11, when Indiana went into Autzen Stadium and beat the third-ranked Ducks 30-20. Winning there as a visitor is no small thing, and Cignetti pulled it off in his first try. That result sent a message across the country and pushed Indiana deeper into the national conversation.
Then came the rematch in the College Football Playoff Semifinals, where Indiana blew past Oregon 56-22. D’Angelo Ponds set the tone immediately with a pick-6 on the first play from scrimmage, and the Hoosiers never looked back. Two meetings, two Indiana wins, and plenty of bad blood in a very short span.
Alabama has also found itself on the wrong end of Indiana’s rise.
The Crimson Tide are still trying to find their footing in the post-Nick Saban era, and last year’s Rose Bowl was another reminder of how far the Hoosiers have come under Cignetti. Indiana dominated Alabama 38-3 in Pasadena, holding the Tide to 193 total yards and only 23 rushing yards. The win sent Indiana to the CFP semifinals and underscored just how quickly the program has climbed.
That edge has carried over to recruiting, too. Last week, 5-star WR Monshun Sales chose Indiana over Alabama.
Sales plays high school football in Indianapolis, but he has strong family ties to Alabama and grew up rooting for the Crimson Tide. He also went by the nickname “Bama” growing up.
With Indiana beating Alabama on the field and on the recruiting trail, this one has become impossible to ignore.
And then there’s Ohio State, the one Big Ten foe that has already gotten a taste of both sides of this new Indiana story.
Cignetti’s only conference loss at Indiana came against Ryan Day’s Buckeyes in 2024, when Ohio State rolled to a 38-15 win in Columbus. Late in that game, Buckeye QB Kyle Howard made sure the moment stuck by taunting Cignetti and the Hoosiers with a cigarette-mime gesture on the sideline. Ohio State later went on to win the National Championship.
Indiana answered in the biggest possible way in the Big Ten Championship Game last December, beating Ohio State 13-10 in Indianapolis on the way to its own national title. Those two games have already given this matchup a sharp edge, and the next chapter comes on October 17, when the Buckeyes visit Bloomington.
That one has all the ingredients of a Game of the Year kind of night. Indiana wants to keep its grip on the top of the sport. Ohio State wants payback and a road statement.
In Other News...
Sam Alexis Suddenly Feels Like More Than A Peru Addition
Sam Alexis landed in Peru as a late addition to Indianas trip for the FISU America games, a move that gave the Hoosiers a little more frontcourt insurance while they represent Team USA on an international stage. He was needed because Samet Yigitoglu was unable to play, and the timing mattered for a roster that is already operating with just 12 scholarship players, making every available big man more valuable on the road.
For coach Darian DeVries, Alexis is more than a fill-in on a summer trip. His presence gives Indiana a chance to mix and match the front line in ways it otherwise could not, including potentially sliding Aiden Sherrell to the four for more minutes. And with recent NCAA rule changes and legal wrangling creating fresh chatter around Alexis future, his role in Peru has only added to the intrigue surrounding what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
IU Fans Just Got Rare Treatment For The Nebraska Road Trip
Indiana fans heading to Lincoln for the October matchup with Nebraska are getting a rare bit of travel help, as United Airlines is putting a new nonstop roundtrip option on the board for that weekend. The added service links Indianapolis and Lincoln around the Indiana-Nebraska game, giving Hoosier supporters a cleaner path to one of the trickier road trips on the schedule.
The move is part of a broader push by United to meet college football travel demand this season, but it stands out for Indiana because not every away game is getting the same treatment. Washington, Rutgers and Michigan are still on fans to figure out the old-fashioned way, which makes this one-weekend flight feel like a small but notable perk for a fan base that has more reason than usual to travel. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Has One Major O Line Question Heading Into 2026
Indianas offensive line enters 2026 with a familiar kind of spring question: how to replace a veteran center and keep the interior steady. Pat Coogan is gone after moving on to the NFL, and the Hoosiers will lean on returning pieces Drew Evans and Bray Lynch, plus Wisconsin transfer Joe Brunner, to sort out the middle of the line as the offseason unfolds.
The good news for Indiana is that the room is not short on bodies or experience, with Austin Leibfried and Matt Marek also available as depth behind the projected starters. The bigger issue is fit, and the Hoosiers still have to determine which combination gives them the best chance to protect the quarterback and keep the run game on schedule when September arrives. [Read more 🡒]