PASADENA, Calif. — Thousands of phones rest in the hands of outstretched arms capturing the sight. A sea of crimson-clad supporters hover above their seats while glued to Indiana football’s Rose Bowl celebration. ESPN’s Rece Davis holds a College Football Playoff-branded microphone to his lips and asks Curt Cignetti to describe the program’s unimaginable turnaround, before extending it for the impending response.
The cameras were rolling, the audience was watching and Davis’ microphone signified one simple command. Action.
“It’d be a hell of a movie,” Cignetti says, delivering the line in a way only he can.
Yeah, it would be. Indiana’s transition from the Big Ten’s punching bag to its champion is unprecedented. It’s a story that bests some of cinema’s greatest underdog stories. “Rocky” — the 1977 Academy Awards Best Picture winner — is amazing, but it took the titular protagonist two movies to squeak out a win in a big fight.
Cignetti took over the losingest program in college football history two seasons ago and brought the Hoosiers to victory against the University of Alabama 38-3 in the Rose Bowl on Thursday afternoon. It’s simply not comparable.
Indiana’s head coach is right; this would be a pretty incredible movie. And if it were, I’d nominate Cignetti for an Oscar.
He made quite an impression with his opening scene.
“I’ve never taken a back seat to anybody and don’t plan on starting now,” Cignetti said Dec. 1, 2023, one day after he was hired. “Purdue sucks, but so does Michigan and Ohio State.”
The immediate unabashed confidence was an interesting character choice, but you can’t deny the foreshadowing was impeccable scriptwriting. Cignetti beat the Wolverines his first year at the helm. One year later he led the Hoosiers to a win in the Big Ten Championship over the Buckeyes. He defeated the Boilermakers in both seasons, winning by a combined score of 122-3.
He’s remained a fixture atop the college football box office since his hiring. Cignetti’s ragtag supporting cast of overlooked recruits he took with him from James Madison University have stolen headlines, flooded front pages and even won awards, albeit for football, not acting.
“Yeah, it’s been a movie,” senior receiver Elijah Sarratt, a member of the aforementioned supporting cast, said postgame. “A great movie, not a bad movie, a Leonardo DiCaprio movie or something man.”
It’s high praise; he’s an Oscar-winning actor. But you give me DiCaprio and I raise you Cignetti. One of the best compliments a performer can get is that they make those around them better. I don’t mean to discredit one of the greatest actors of our generation, but DiCaprio can’t compare to the Hoosiers’ head coach in that category.
Cignetti has maximized his team’s potential at every step of his journey. His players weren’t the highest rated, his coordinators didn’t have a backlog of NFL experience and the program he inherited had the furthest thing from a winning culture. But with Cignetti came success.
“It all starts with him,” redshirt senior offensive lineman Pat Coogan said. “He makes sure all of our eyes are focused forward and we're all thinking alike as he always says. It's real. It's what happens. I believe that's why we see success on Saturdays.”
Coogan was introduced a bit later in the film but has made his impact known since transferring from the University of Notre Dame in the offseason. Thursday, he anchored an Indiana offensive line that rushed for 215 yards against a tough Crimson Tide defense — a performance that earned him the Rose Bowl offensive MVP award.
Another late addition to the Hoosiers’ cast was redshirt senior running back Roman Hemby, who made a rather fitting analogy regarding his path to Bloomington.
“It feels really crazy honestly,” Hemby said, “to be kind of like an extra, one of those guys that was brought in halfway through the race. But they welcomed me with open arms and it has been a movie.”
Hemby had 18 carries for 89 yards and a touchdown against Alabama — pretty good if you ask me. But that’s exactly it, Indiana’s players aren’t afraid to call themselves “extras.” No one’s chasing stardom. Cignetti has fostered a culture within the program that focuses on one thing, winning. And that’s exactly what Indiana has done.
A few minutes before he answered Davis’ question, Cignetti was awarded the Rose Bowl trophy. As he hoisted the silver-coated football into the air, Sarratt and senior linebacker Aiden Fisher showered their head coach in a stream of rose petals. Two players, who have been with Cignetti through the entirety of the movie-like journey, gave him his dues.
“I haven’t done enough to give back to him,” Sarratt said. “He’s made me better as a man, as a football player, so big shoutout to coach Cig man. I love him.”
Indiana football won’t be eligible for the best picture award this year because the game was played one day past the 2026 Academy Awards cutoff. And I suppose also because a football broadcast isn’t technically a movie. But still, as the Hoosiers sat atop the stage after their 38-3 beatdown of Alabama, I couldn’t help but wonder if what I’d witnessed was a small piece of fiction. After all, Hollywood was just a few miles down the road.
“This, well, it was pure cinema, wasn’t it?” redshirt junior offensive lineman Carter Smith said.
Cignetti might not win an Oscar, but for the time being, a rose will have to do.
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.
