Curt Cignetti is full of great one-liners, ‘Google him,’ and you’ll see. But tonight, after Indiana’s 56-22 demolition of Oregon, his latest quote may have taken the cake.
With confetti on the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, ESPN’s Molly McGrath asked the 64-year-old head coach about when he’ll appreciate what a historic moment this is for the program, with that caveat that “I know you’re already thinking about the next game.” Cignetti surprised her. The man known for his meticulous preparation and unceasing competitiveness finally let his guard down in the aftermath of clinching a trip to the national championship.
“I’m really not thinking about the next game,” Cignetti told McGrath, “I’m thinking about cracking open a beer,” his patent Cignetti-face replaced by a laugh and a smile.
Curt Cignetti’s post-Peach Bowl plan sounds pretty good
No, Cignetti isn’t letting his foot off the gas one win away from his ultimate goal. He’s not abandoning the underdog mentality that has carried the FBS’s losingest program to 15-0 and one win away from its first national title. No, that will undoubtedly return in the 10 days before the Hoosiers play the Miami Hurricanes in Hard Rock Stadium on January 19. Cignetti just knows how good his team is.
It’s a team that is suddenly drawing comparisons to 2019 LSU, the last team to win the national championship with a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback. A team that is considered by many to be the greatest in the history of college football, and that was littered with first-round talent. A team constructed in an era before the NIL and transfer portal, when programs could hoard talent and overwhelm you with waves of future NFL players.
Cignetti did it a different way. He did it the hard way, developing zero-star players into Sun Belt stars at James Madison, and then into some of the best players in the country at Indiana. He did it by leaving Alabama to become a DII head coach at IUP outside of his hometown of Pittsburgh, where his father is a legend, and worked his way up to the FBS.
Now, one win away from his ultimate goal, a goal he helped Nick Saban accomplish at Alabama back in 2009, Cignetti can taste it. And tonight, it’ll taste like an ice-cold beer. And nobody deserves it more.
And don’t worry, Cignetti’s not abandoning his matter-of-fact nature completely. When asked how it sounds that Indiana is heading to the national championship game, Cignetti responded like a coach who has been there many times before.
“That sounds good. It means we got it done today, and now we’ve got to get ready for one more.”
Well, Cigs, not before you, and Indiana fans everywhere enjoy that beer.