Curt Cignetti had the guts Mario Cristobal didn’t and it won him a national title

From the moment he told the media, “I win, Google me” in his opening press conference and days later told the Hoosier faithful at Assembly Hall, “Purdue sucks! So does Michigan and Ohio State,” Curt Cignetti has never backed down. That fearless mentality has permeated his football team, and on Monday night at Hard Rock Stadium, it crowned them National Champions with a 27-21 win over Miami.

Facing a fourth-and-5 from the Miami 37, leading 17-14, Curt Cignetti called a timeout, then left his Heisman Trophy quarterback on the field. Fernando Mendoza delivered a 19-yard strike to Charlie Becker to move the chains. Then, three plays later, he faced fourth-and-5 again. And again, Cignetti needed a timeout to think it over, but he fearlessly sent his offense back onto the field, left the ball in his quarterback’s hands, and got rewarded for it. 

Curt Cignetti’s fourth-down conviction defined a championship moment

Cignetti and offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan, who will inexplicably return to Bloomington next season after not getting poached in the coaching carousel, dialed up a quarterback draw for Mendoza, his first designed QB run of the game. Mendoza delivered, not just moving the chains, but extending Indiana’s lead to two scores. 

The first fourth-down decision of the drive was easy. The Hoosiers were barely outside of Nico Radicic’s field goal range, but too deep into Hurricane territory to punt. The second was more difficult, and initially, it appeared as though Cignetti was going to take the coward’s way out, kick the field goal, and be up just six points in the fourth quarter. But he remembered who he was, he remembered how this team was built, and he didn’t back down. 

It’s not just a play that will be remembered forever, but a decision that will live on in the memory of blissful Indiana fans, never fully convinced that the program’s unlikely ascent wasn’t a dream. 

Mario Cristobal wasn’t so bold. And maybe because of that, Cristobal’s Canes won’t be remembered that same way. 

Indiana trusted its identity, Mario Cristobal played it safe

Cristobal faced a similar dilemma in the first half. After already converting on a fourth-and-1 from his own 34-yard line with 3:44 left, down 10-0, Cristobal turtled in field goal range. A six-yard Carson Beck completion to Keelon Marion set up a fourth-and-2 from the Indiana 32-yard line. Rather than keep the pedal down and look to put a touchdown on the board before the end of the half, Cristobal ran the clock down to 38 seconds, called a timeout, and set his kicker, Carter Davis, onto the field. 

Cristobal was ‘taking the points.’ Only, it’s never that easy. 

Davis doinked the kick off the upright, and Indiana went into the half with its 10-point lead preserved. 

It’s easy to criticize Cristobal after the fact, and that decision is far from the only reason Miami lost, but it’s a reason, and it’s not something that Cignetti would ever let cost him a game. Because he coaches with no fear, he may not have any fear. And at this point, why should he?