Aiden Fisher isn’t here for the headlines. He’s not chasing the spotlight, not soaking in the noise. With one game left on the calendar - and a national title on the line - Indiana’s senior linebacker is locked in on one thing: finishing the job.
“It won’t mean really anything unless we walk away with a win in this game,” Fisher said. No fluff, no hype. Just football.
That mindset? It didn’t just show up in December.
Fisher brought it with him from James Madison when he followed head coach Curt Cignetti to Bloomington. It’s become part of his DNA - and it’s rubbed off on everyone around him.
Even in conversations off the field, that focus shows up. “I caught myself using the word ‘complacent,’” Fisher said, laughing.
“I was like, wow, I’ve been with Cig way too long. Everything he talks about is true in football and in life.
Complacency kills.”
That’s Cignetti’s influence in a nutshell - relentless, no-nonsense, and rooted in accountability. And Fisher has become one of the loudest echoes of that message inside Indiana’s locker room.
Yes, there’s a national championship game ahead. Yes, Indiana has already rewritten its place in the college football landscape.
But don’t expect Fisher to get caught up in the moment. He’s not wired like that.
“It’s just football,” he said. Same field.
Same pads. Same four quarters.
But let’s be clear - Fisher knows exactly what this game means. He’s made sure the younger guys understand it too.
Games like this don’t come around often. This is the kind of stage you fight your whole life to reach.
And once you’re here, there’s no room for shortcuts.
“Prepare like it’s your last game,” he said. “So you can walk off with no regrets.”
Indiana’s already changed the way people talk about the program. But for Fisher, the story doesn’t mean much unless it ends the right way - with a win.