The energy in Bloomington is at an all-time high after the Indiana Hoosiers won their first-ever college football national championship earlier this year. All kudos to one man, head coach Curt Cignetti, who not only flipped the script but also brought new life to a program that was once known as the losingest program in the FBS.
Heading into the 2026 season as the defending national champions, it’s a whole other experience, but for Cignetti, it’s a fresh start and time to prove himself again. He appears to have already turned the page on their title glory and is locked in more than ever.
Curt Cignetti Gets Real About Indiana’s Mindset for 2026 Season
When the veteran coach arrived in Bloomington in December 2023, he dropped the infamous punchline, “It’s pretty simple. I win. Google me.” He certainly lived up to the bravado, and the swagger really worked every time he went recruiting. The program stacked up its roster with underdogs, eventually building a perfect team.
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While speaking with host Scott Van Pelt on a recent episode of ESPN’s SportsCenter, Cignetti mentioned that his mentality hasn’t changed.
“I think every year you got to start over, regardless of your record the year before. I mean, it’s like building a house; you got to dig the hole and build the foundation,” Cignetti said on the show.
“You know we’re process-driven, and the key to the drills is consistency to a high standard,” Cignetti added. “And you know, I think we’ve done a pretty good job of that up to this point. I told myself. I said, ‘We’re not defending a national championship.’ Everybody’s 0-0 right now, and we’re just trying to form the right habits, play at a level of high consistency, and play our brand of ball.”
“We’re not defending a national championship. Everybody’s 0-0 right now.”@CCignettiIU joins @notthefakeSVP on SportsCenter to discuss the upcoming season, Fernando Mendoza and the legendary 2025 run 👏 pic.twitter.com/2usk2dflSl
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 21, 2026
Last year, when Cignetti brought Fernando Mendoza over from Cal, there wasn’t much hype surrounding the move, although Indiana was coming off a breakout 11-2 season. While that record marked an instant transformation for a program that had managed just two winning seasons in 16 years, a national championship was certainly not on the radar at the time.
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Indiana went on to win its first national championship with a perfect 16-0 record and captured the program’s first Big Ten title in 58 years. History seems to be repeating itself as Cignetti has been quietly rebuilding the program.
According to PFN’s College Football Power Rankings, the program is ranked No. 3 with a 27.50 rating.
This year, a new quarterback will start for the program. TCU transfer Josh Hoover will lead from the pocket and brings four years of experience with the Horned Frogs. He started 31 of 36 games and has racked up 9,629 passing yards with 71 touchdowns.
Hoover is expected to translate the same level of play to Indiana, as he now has big shoes to fill this upcoming season.
