Curt Cignetti is known for his witty and intense quotes. His frown on the sideline is constant.
But after Indiana football’s victory over Penn State on Nov. 8, the usually stoic head coach showed rare emotion.
Before the game, Fox sideline reporter Jenny Dell informed Cignetti that Indiana had yet to win at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. She asked how the Cream and Crimson could change that.
“This team has never played here,” Cignetti said.
Dell then asked what concerns the second-year head coach had about Penn State.
“Nothing concerns me,” he said. “The time to be concerned is over. It’s time to attack and play.”
Indiana did just that. But even after attacking early and leading by 10 points, it found itself needing a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter. Redshirt junior quarterback Fernando Mendoza delivered. He went 5 for 8 for 87 yards passing and a touchdown on the final possession to give the Hoosiers a historic 27-24 comeback victory.
After the contest, Dell interviewed Cignetti again. This time, there was a stark contrast in the 64-year-old Cignetti’s demeanor.
Dell asked Cignetti to take her through Mendoza’s composure to find redshirt junior receiver Omar Cooper Jr. for the toe-tap touchdown. He rattled off the circumstances that made the victory so improbable.
“This was an unbelievable win,” Cignetti said, smiling and on the verge of tears. “I’ve seen a lot of stuff in my days. I’ve never seen anything quite like this.”
Dell asked how crucial the win was in getting to where Indiana wants to be at season’s end. Indiana is 10-0 for the second consecutive season, and the Hoosiers have an unblemished record with just two games remaining before postseason play.
Cignetti noted his squad played shorthanded thanks to injuries. And, as he usually does, he stressed the Hoosiers must play better. Still, he was “so proud” of his team.
After he finished the interview, Cignetti walked toward the visitors’ sideline. He raised his arms above his head and yelled out.
“He has his little sound clips and bytes that everybody enjoys but that one might be number one now: just raw emotion, just screaming at the end,” senior linebacker Aiden Fisher said Tuesday. “And the fans buy into it, and they love it.”
Cignetti then led the Hoosier faithful in a “Go IU” chant — the one he’s essentially coined after leading the Cream and Crimson to road victories. Fisher finds the chant “awesome” but also a “little funny.”
At his press conference Monday, Cignetti explained why he became emotional after his 21st victory at the helm of the Hoosiers.
“I did get a little choked up there at the end just because I was so proud of our guys,” Cignetti said. “Our backs were against the wall there, and boy, it wasn't looking very good, and in that venue, 105,000 people, and Penn State was playing really well.”
Cignetti is in his 42nd year as a college football coach. He won a national championship as an assistant under legendary head coach Nick Saban at the University of Alabama in 2009. In total, he’s won 140 games throughout his 14 seasons as a head coach.
Fisher said he knew the win meant a lot to Cignetti, who was born in Pittsburgh and whose family is from Pennsylvania. Not only because of the lack of success against the Nittany Lions in his career, but the nature of beating the team that essentially represents his home state.
Cignetti said 10 to 15 years ago, he never thought he’d be a head coach of an opposing team playing inside Beaver Stadium, let alone a team that emerged with a victory over Penn State.
But the Cignetti-led Hoosiers did.
“It meant a lot,” Cignetti said. “... My first time in that stadium was 1971, and every two years I was in that stadium for about 15, 16 years, and I can tell you there were a lot of long rides home. Not many happy rides home.”
During Cignetti’s career as a backup quarterback for West Virginia University, the Mountaineers went 0-4 against the Nittany Lions. As an assistant with the University of Pittsburgh and Alabama, he was 1-3 against Penn State but never won inside the famed stadium.
Not only did the Hoosiers’ victory change that, but it also changed Cignetti’s seemingly predictable persona postgame.
Cignetti told the Hoosiers in the locker room that the victory was one of the “most improbable” ones he’s been a part of as a coach, Fisher said.
“I think he was extremely proud of not only his team, but honestly of himself,” Fisher said. “...He's a phenomenal football coach and a phenomenal person. So, to see him emotional in those moments is really special to all of us.”
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and columnist Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa and qmrichar@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
