Indiana football endured what head coach Curt Cignetti deemed “disruption” from Monday to Wednesday in the lead-up to the Rose Bowl. The Hoosiers’ travel tendencies were thrown off: their practice was in a new location in a different time zone.
Still, the Cream and Crimson steamrolled the No. 9 University of Alabama in the Rose Bowl on Thursday to cement a spot in the College Football Playoff semifinals. A rematch with No. 5 Oregon awaits in the Peach Bowl at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 9.
But there’s another disruption the Hoosiers’ coaching staff must navigate: the transfer portal, which opened Friday. Some of Cignetti’s and his assistants’ attention will surely be at least somewhat diverted from the Ducks to constructing their 2026 roster.
“With the college football calendar the way it is, we have 13 portal guys on campus right now,” Cignetti said during a Zoom press conference Saturday. “So, from 10 o’clock till 2 o’clock, my Oregon prep got cut a little bit short. So, I'm going to pick up on that later this evening.”
When Cignetti and the Hoosiers arrived back in Bloomington from Los Angeles around 3:40 a.m. Friday, he gave the rest of the coaches and the players the day off.
However, Cignetti still spent “about eight or nine hours” in his Memorial Stadium office, recognizing he could make up the time he would lose throughout the weekend.
“I have a few meetings this evening (Saturday) and a few tomorrow morning (Sunday),” Cignetti said, “and then it'll be 100% focus on our prep.”
Although the Hoosiers’ position coaches will meet with only the recruits who align with their position group, such a concept doesn’t apply to Cignetti. Instead, he visits with each portal recruit the program welcomes into its facility.
Cignetti is no stranger to balancing recruiting with playoff prep, though. During the Hoosiers’ lead-up to their CFP first-round matchup with the University of Notre Dame last season, the coaching staff dealt with an open portal window.
But the NCAA’s new regulations have shifted when teams are tasked with recruiting portal players. Two windows — one for 20 days in December and 10 days in April — existed last offseason. Now, the portal is restricted to just one 15-day stretch in January.
Indiana isn’t the only squad that’s forced to find the happy medium between the two substantial tasks. Oregon, the University of Mississippi and the University of Miami are each dealing with the same assignment.
“We're going through the same thing here,” Ducks head coach Dan Lanning said during a Saturday press conference. “So, I did a breakfast with some recruits this morning. It is what it is. Right?”
There’s an area of portal recruiting that differs from high school recruiting, though. The latter is a much younger prospect searching for their first collegiate home. The former is a player who’s already seen action at a different school and is seeking an improved opportunity.
“They don't need 48 hours on campus,” Cignetti said. “It's usually one night, they're making a business decision. They're normally older guys. They've been through it. They know what they're looking for. Either you're a fit or you're not.”
The Hoosiers have yet to land their first transfer this offseason after bringing in 30 and 24 over each of the past two offseasons, but they’ll likely do so in the coming days. They did have four players enter the portal Friday, however.
Cignetti said he’d like those players — four reserves — to continue practicing with the Hoosiers, but some have already left the program and traveled to their respective homes.
Whether it’s the date of season openers, the lengthy CFP byes or the transfer portal windows, coaches around the country have their own opinions.
Cignetti previously explained Oct. 20 that he isn’t a “big fan” of the new portal regulations and the elimination of the spring window. Still, Cignetti’s approach to the current slate is simple: adjust, adapt, improvise and be light on your feet.
“It puts a little more stress on the coaching staff,” Cignetti said. “...But you got to make time for it. You got to get it done, do the best you can. But the focus primarily has to be on preparation for this game.”
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.
