The Indiana Hoosiers reached the college football mountaintop last season by orchestrating a perfect 16-0 season that resulted in their first-ever National Championship.
Heading into the 2026 Big Ten Media Days this week, one burning question Hoosier fans wanted to know revolved around the unchartered territory the Indiana football program finds itself in. Now instead of trying to build something, the Hoosiers are trying to maintain something. Instead of chasing everyone else, everyone else is now chasing Indiana. In other words, the hunters have become the hunted.
Curt Cignetti escalates the Big Ten–SEC rivalry with viral jab––and he's right
But Cignetti isn't worried about that. Speaking with Andrew Chernoff of WISH-TV News in Chicago on Thursday, Cignetti delivered the perfect quote for how the Hoosiers will handle being everyones Super Bowl this season.
Curt Cignetti has Indiana embracing its new role as a college football power
When Chernoff asked about what the message is to the roster now that they have a target on their backs as the reigning National Champions, Cignetti had a simple response.
"Target is on our back, but we bought a bigger gun," said Cignetti.
"Target is on our back, but we bought a bigger gun" 🤣
— Andrew Chernoff (@ADChernoff) July 30, 2026
Just spoke one-on-one with @IndianaFootball head coach Curt Cignetti here in Chicago about entering the upcoming season as the defending national champs. 🏆@WISHNews8 | @wrtv pic.twitter.com/6hU3cNElzr
His reply is perfectly Cignetti-esque. It's blunt, to the point, and features a bit of his famous dry humor. It also shows his extreme confidence and swagger in preparing his team to reach new heights once again. Furthermore, it shows that Indiana isn't backing down from its new role as one of college footballs top villains.
Indiana is comfortable being the team everyone chases
It's often said in sports that it's hard to get to the mountaintop, but it's even harder to stay there. Winning a championship is hard, but winning consecutive championships is even harder. That's exactly what Cignetti and the Hoosiers are looking to do heading into the 2026 season.
After such a historic and eye-popping campaign last season, everyone wants to bring down the champs. There's no doubt that fans of Indiana's 12 regular season opponents all have the IU game circled on their calendars. The Hoosiers will get everybody's best effort this season, which means they have to be on their game week-in and week-out.
Gone are the days where the Hoosiers are an afterthought on the gridiron. Now, Indiana is expected to compete for another national title. The Hoosiers are among the preseason favorites to win the National Championship, signaling that oddsmakers and industry experts have plenty of faith in Indiana's staying power with Cignetti at the helm. He is 27-2 with just a single Big Ten loss during his time at Indiana, and fans of the Cream and Crimson have plenty of faith in his ability moving forward.
When the new season officially starts up in a little over a month, everyone will be gunning for the Hoosiers. But it's clear that Cignetti will have his team ready and fully embracing their new role.
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