ATLANTA — Curt Cignetti stood on the stage awaiting his turn.
As Fernando Mendoza and D’Angelo Ponds were presented the offensive and defensive MVP awards, the second-year Indiana football head coach stood behind the George P. Crumbley trophy.
He cracked a smirk, a rare sight on game days, as the Hoosiers continued their storybook season.
On Friday night inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Cignetti’s team delivered another one of its patented beatdowns. This time, No. 1 Indiana walloped No. 5 Oregon 56-22 in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Peach Bowl to advance to the program’s first national championship.
And when Cignetti lifted the trophy, he smiled ever so slightly.
“It's a great win against a really good football team,” Cignetti said postgame. “Really proud of our players, our staff.”
Although Cignetti earns much of the fame for his unforgettable sideline scowls, no matter what’s transpiring on the field, his staff and the discipline they’ve developed are vital to the Hoosiers’ success.
Whether it’s offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan, defensive coordinator Bryant Haines or any position coach, Cignetti’s assistants are all aligned. Shanahan and Haines both began under Cignetti at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and have spent over a decade with him.
“The bottom line really in this business is you got to get everybody to think alike,” Cignetti said postgame. “And if you can get everybody thinking alike, focused on the same thing, you can accomplish anything.”
Two days before the Hoosiers faced the Ducks, senior linebacker Aiden Fisher described the Cream and Crimson as “robots.” Indiana has built a rigorous routine throughout the first 15 games of the season, and it hasn’t veered from it even during the CFP.
Cignetti often mentioned his blueprint — including valuing production over potential in the recruiting process — when he first arrived in Bloomington. It’s brought far more achievements than imaginable in just two years at Indiana, even without a five- and four-star-laden roster.
The Hoosiers are 26-2 under Cignetti. Throughout the Cream and Crimson’s 2025 season, they’ve earned blowout victories and close, nail-biting wins.
And the Hoosiers’ staff, which sophomore receiver Charlie Becker said is full of “fantastic coaches,” deserves much of the credit.
“We have coaches that do a fantastic job of watching the team's films, breaking it down, making it simple for us players so that we can learn it,” Becker said postgame. “But what's expected is that we do the work on our own time. We're watching film. We're always working super hard.”
While preparing is one thing, development is another. Whether it’s senior linebacker Aiden Fisher, senior receiver Elijah Sarratt or sixth-year senior defensive lineman Mikail Kamara, the Hoosiers’ position coaches have elevated zero-star recruits into All-Americans.
Sarratt attributed his abilities — and the Hoosiers’ as a whole — to the work they put in Monday through Friday. Stacking weeks on weeks under a coaching staff as skilled as Indiana’s paved such development.
“And then when Saturdays come, it's just us executing out there, not trying to turn the ball over and staying ahead of the sticks,” Sarratt said. “When you're able to do those three things, usually things go good for you.”
Then, those high-level players are paired with talented transfers, who Cignetti identified as a fit for the Hoosiers. The coaching staff then leads preparation, and it results in the Hoosiers’ offense and defense understanding every look an opponent gives.
The Hoosiers were coming off a 35-point drubbing of the No. 9 University of Alabama in the Rose Bowl. It was utter dominance in the CFP quarterfinal — one that seemed difficult to replicate against Oregon, the highest-ranked team remaining.
But the Cream and Crimson held a 35-7 lead at halftime against the Ducks and cruised to victory. Indiana notched three takeaways, as Oregon’s offense couldn’t sustain any momentum after its touchdown drive on its second possession. The Hoosiers, who didn’t notch a giveaway, scored 21 points off the Ducks’ turnovers.
Conversely, Mendoza has thrown just six interceptions, and Indiana’s rushing attack has one fumble, which came in the season opener. The Hoosiers don’t beat themselves.
Friday’s victory was another dominant win over a ranked opponent, which the Hoosiers have grown familiar with throughout the season. And it’s all because the Hoosiers execute at perhaps the highest level in college football.
“We go to practice every day and make sure our fundamentals are sound,” redshirt senior running back Roman Hemby said. “We do everything that we have to do to be successful. On game day, the little mistakes, mental mistakes, we try to eliminate those as much as possible. We're not perfect. We'll make mistakes here and there. We've got to do everything that we can if we want to win because that's the difference in a lot of games.”
Now, the Hoosiers have two overwhelming victories in the Rose Bowl and the Peach Bowl. The sport’s grandest prize sits directly ahead: the national championship.
The Hoosiers surely won’t change their ways now. Their strategy brought them a more than tripled margin of victory compared to the road triumph Oct. 11 against Oregon. Indiana’s staff said it sought to avoid “paralysis by analysis” in its preparation — an approach that appeared to pay off.
They will head to Miami for the national championship, aiming to reach college football immortality Jan. 19 against the No. 10 University of Miami. The Hurricanes are another challenge — the Hoosiers’ 16th this season.
Cignetti and his program have met every task they’ve faced. All that’s left is one more victory.
The wait could come to an end not only for Indiana fans, but also Cignetti. He’s won national championships as an assistant coach at Alabama, but he departed to become a head coach. Now, he has the chance to become national championship-winning head coach.
After all, he’s already done what most deemed impossible. Now, one more high-level team awaits.
“And these teams that we've been playing, they're fantastic teams,” Becker said. “And I'm just really happy that we have Curt Cignetti.”
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.
