Curt Cignetti hasn’t just turned Indiana around-he’s flipped the whole Big Ten script. In just two seasons in Bloomington, Cignetti has built a juggernaut, and the ripple effects are being felt across the country.
His Hoosiers are 24-2 under his watch, with an eye-popping 18-1 record in conference play. Now, they’re the No. 1 team in the nation at 13-0, heading to the Rose Bowl for a College Football Playoff quarterfinal on New Year’s Day.
And while Indiana fans are riding high, coaches around the league? They’re sweating.
Just ask Nebraska’s Matt Rhule.
Rhule, now three years into one of the most pressure-packed jobs in the sport, has gone 19-18 overall and 10-17 in Big Ten play. That’s not the kind of record that calms a restless fan base-or an athletic department.
And one game in particular still stings: a 56-7 loss to Indiana last season in Bloomington. That was the kind of beatdown that doesn’t just hurt your record-it shakes your program’s foundation.
On his “House Rhules” podcast, Rhule didn’t shy away from acknowledging what Cignetti has accomplished-or how much it’s rattled the coaching landscape.
“I can’t explain it,” Rhule said. “Nothing like it has ever happened.
I just think you have to tip your cap to Coach Cignetti. He came in, he called it, and he did it.”
Rhule pointed to Cignetti’s ability to bring in his own players as a key factor. In Year 1, the Hoosiers were loaded with transfers who had played under Cignetti before, which helped fast-track the culture shift.
But what’s happened since then? That’s been next-level.
“Last year, they went and got a quarterback from Ohio-Kurtis Rourke-and he plays at a really high level,” Rhule said. “This year, they go get the quarterback from Cal-Fernando Mendoza-and he wins the Heisman Trophy.”
That’s not just good roster management. That’s elite-level program building. And it’s happening fast.
Rhule also highlighted the continuity on Cignetti’s staff, something that often goes overlooked in the coaching carousel era. The coordinators have been with him for years, and that stability has clearly paid off. The Hoosiers play with precision, confidence, and a clear identity-something a lot of programs are still searching for.
“I just think we all have to say to ourselves that Coach Cignetti has done something that is absolutely amazing,” Rhule added. “The rest of us are all chasing it.”
It’s a rare moment of candor in a profession built on bravado. Rhule acknowledged that while he’s done better than some of the other coaches who came into the Big Ten alongside him in 2024-three of whom have already been fired-Cignetti’s meteoric rise has raised the bar for everyone.
“It makes you not want to sleep at night,” he said. “If I’m keeping it real, bro, and I know this clip will probably go viral, but Coach Cignetti is making a lot of us look bad right now.”
That’s the kind of honesty you don’t often hear from a sitting head coach. But it speaks to the reality of the moment: Cignetti has changed the game.
He’s taken a program that had long been an afterthought in the Big Ten and turned it into the standard. And now, with a Heisman winner under center and a Playoff appearance on deck, Indiana isn’t just a feel-good story-they’re a legitimate national powerhouse.
Rhule, for his part, isn’t backing down. He’s chasing it. But he knows the mountain just got a lot steeper.
“I have to tip my hat to him,” Rhule said. “Because what he’s done is amazing. I’m anxious to see them in the Playoff.”
So are we. Because if Cignetti’s first two years are any indication, this Indiana team isn’t just happy to be here-they’re built to win it all.