Two years ago, the idea of Indiana winning a national championship in football would've drawn laughter-or maybe a raised eyebrow and a quick change of subject. This was, after all, the program with the most losses in major college football history.
But fast forward to the end of the 2025 season, and the Hoosiers are standing atop the mountain, national champions with a perfect 16-0 record. It’s not just a feel-good story-it’s a blueprint for what’s possible in the rapidly evolving landscape of college football.
Indiana's rise is a masterclass in modern roster-building. Curt Cignetti took over a program long considered an afterthought and turned it into a powerhouse in just two seasons.
And he didn’t do it by luck. He did it by embracing the tools of the new era: the transfer portal, NIL, and revenue-sharing.
Indiana’s transformation is living proof that, with the right leadership and investment, even the sport’s historical underdogs can flip the script-and flip it fast.
That story is resonating far beyond Bloomington. Down in Lexington, it’s giving Kentucky fans a reason to believe as Will Stein begins his tenure as head coach.
The parallels aren’t perfect-Cignetti brought years of head coaching experience from lower divisions, while Stein is stepping into his first head coaching role after two seasons as Oregon’s offensive coordinator-but the principle holds. In today’s college football, the gap between cellar-dweller and contender is shorter than ever, if you know how to navigate it.
Stein gets that. Asked about Indiana’s championship run just hours before the title game, he didn’t shy away from the comparison. In fact, he leaned into it.
“Coach Cignetti is an elite coach,” Stein said. “They’ve got a number one pick at quarterback, great players, a great scheme.
They’ve invested in their program from the minute he stepped on campus. So, yeah, it can be done.
That’s the exciting part about college football now.”
Stein knows firsthand how real Indiana is-Oregon faced the Hoosiers twice this season, including a 56-22 rout in the College Football Playoff semifinals. That kind of humbling experience has a way of sharpening your focus.
For Stein, it’s a reminder that success in today’s game isn’t reserved for the blue bloods. It’s about adaptability, alignment, and ambition.
“You can be a young coach, an old coach,” Stein said. “If you’re not adapting, you’re lost. You’re not going to win.”
That mentality is already shaping his vision for Kentucky football. The Wildcats are coming off a strong offseason, landing a top-10 transfer portal class according to 247Sports. Behind the scenes, the university is investing in stadium upgrades and infrastructure to generate more revenue and keep pace in the SEC arms race.
“I work for the best president and the best AD in the country,” Stein said, referring to Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart. “They’ve done everything and more to support us. I feel really good about the future and making sure we keep pushing the envelope.”
That push includes building out a modern football operation. Stein has already brought in two key front-office hires-general manager Pat Biondo and assistant GM Pete Nochta-to help manage roster construction, recruiting, and NIL negotiations. In Stein’s view, general managers aren’t a luxury anymore-they’re a necessity.
“You cannot run a program without them,” he said.
On the field, Stein’s offensive system is built for the times. It’s flexible, fast, and built to adapt to different tempos and personnel. But more than just X’s and O’s, Stein is focused on building a culture that reflects who he is: passionate, competitive, and unafraid.
“The best guys I’ve coached for or played for were themselves,” he said. “That’s the most exciting part about being here-I can be fully me.
I’m passionate about this university, about coaching, about putting smart people around me and cutting it loose. Not being afraid of anybody.”
That mindset is already drawing comparisons to Cignetti’s now-famous introduction at Indiana, where he told reporters, “It’s pretty simple. I win.
Google me.” Stein hasn’t gone that far, but he’s not lacking confidence either.
When asked about the gauntlet Kentucky faces in the SEC, he flipped the narrative.
“Everybody keeps talking about, ‘You’ve got to play these guys,’” he said. “Well, they’ve got to play us, too.
Let’s put together a great team-tough, smart, dependable, plays four quarters, connected-and let’s see what happens. That’s what I’m excited about.”
Indiana’s championship didn’t just rewrite their program’s history-it may have redrawn the map for what’s possible in college football. And in Lexington, Will Stein is already sketching out his own version of that story.