As the curtain falls on the college football season Monday night with Indiana facing off against Miami, all eyes - including those of longtime ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit - are locked in on what promises to be a compelling final act.
Herbstreit, who will be on the call for the national title game, didn’t hide his admiration for what Curt Cignetti has accomplished with the Hoosiers this season. And frankly, it’s hard to blame him.
“They’re dominating. Right now, they’re playing as well as anybody in the sport,” Herbstreit said Saturday, highlighting a team that’s not just winning - they’re doing it with precision, discipline, and an identity that feels refreshingly authentic in today’s college football landscape.
Indiana’s rise under Cignetti has been one of the season’s most captivating storylines. This isn’t a roster loaded with five-star recruits or built purely through NIL-fueled transfers.
Instead, it’s a group that blends homegrown talent with smart additions from the transfer portal - many of them from smaller programs like James Madison - and plays with a chip on its shoulder. That underdog DNA has fueled a program that’s not just competing, but thriving on the biggest stage.
“They’re probably as well-coached as any team I’ve watched,” Herbstreit noted. “And all year, consistently, there are very few games where you see them make mistakes.” That kind of consistency speaks volumes about the culture Cignetti has instilled - a culture rooted in preparation, discipline, and a clear understanding of who they are.
What makes Indiana’s run so fascinating isn’t just the wins - it’s the way they’ve gone about them. They’ve managed to block out the noise, stay focused on football, and let their play do the talking. In a sport increasingly dominated by headlines off the field, the Hoosiers have kept things simple: line up, execute, win.
Herbstreit called them “the embodiment of modern college football,” and it’s tough to argue. They’ve embraced the tools of the modern era - the transfer portal, player development, scheme versatility - but they’ve done it without losing their identity. That’s a tricky balance to strike, and it’s part of what makes this team so compelling to watch.
“I don’t know if anybody could have predicted a team who don’t have any five stars would be in position to compete for an opportunity at all,” Herbstreit said. And he’s right.
Indiana wasn’t supposed to be here - not this soon, not without the recruiting pedigree of the sport’s traditional powers. Yet here they are, one win away from a national title, rewriting the script in real time.
Of course, Herbstreit couldn’t make a pick - not with him in the booth for the broadcast - but he made it clear: if Indiana pulls this off, it would be one of the most remarkable stories the sport has seen in years.
“To see it happen so quickly, I think anybody has to be beyond words with what he’s been able to do… this is unprecedented,” Herbstreit said.
No matter how Monday night plays out, Indiana’s journey has already made a statement. They’ve shown that with the right coach, a clear vision, and a roster full of hungry, overlooked talent, anything is possible. And in a college football world constantly evolving, that’s a story worth celebrating.