Over the past two years, college football fans have become quite familiar with Curt Cignetti's demeanor. Cignetti's coaching style includes a no-nonsense approach, extreme confidence, high expectations for his players and staff, and an intense attention to detail. So far, those characteristics have produced other-worldly results in Bloomington.
Game-by-game predictions for Indiana Football's title-defending 2026 season
Cignetti is 27-2 over his two seasons at Indiana and led the Hoosiers to a perfect 16-0 season that culminated in a historic National Championship last season. His leadership has completely changed how the Indiana football program is perceived across the country, and the momentum doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon. Indiana is expected to compete for another title again this season, but Cignetti isn't ready to make any assumptions about his team just yet.
Cignetti isn’t letting Indiana’s championship success change his mindset
Cignetti's elite success has brought the eyes of the college football world to Bloomington. Indiana's season-opener was selected for FOX's Big Noon Kickoff on Saturday, and Cignetti himself was featured on a segment of EPN's College GameDay. While speaking with the GameDay panelists, Cignetti made it clear the he is not letting last year's National Championship change how he approaches the new season.
"I'd like to think we're good and okay, but I don't really know," said Cignetti. The season opener should give Cignetti and his staff a chance to start finding that out. But while Indiana is among the preseason favorites to compete for this year's national title, Cignetti is making sure to take things slow. He's also giving props to Indiana's Week 1 opponent, the North Texas Mean Green.
“It all begins with being prepared and having the right mindset, which I think we do," Cignetti told FOX's Jenny Taft on Saturday morning. "And respect for the opponent. We all saw Rutgers-UMass, right?”
Cignetti is of course referencing Rutgers' humiliating 37-21 loss to UMass on Thursday night. Rutgers was favored by 29.5-points, but ended up losing by 16 points on their home turf. To make matters even worse, Rutgers reportedly paid UMass $1.55 million to play the game. It was an embarrassing showing for Greg Schiano and company, and the Rutgers program now appears to be at rock bottom. Cignetti used that contest to remind everyone that nothing is guaranteed in college football. You can have everything sorted out on paper and have all the confidence in the world, but you still have to go out there and perform. No opponent can be overlooked.
Hoosier fans have all the confidence in the world in what Cignetti can do in Year 3 of his tenure at Indiana. Cignetti retains his entire coaching staff, brings back a number of key contributors including WR Charlie Becker, OT Carter Smith, LB Rolijah Hardy and DT Tyrique Tucker, and added the No.1-ranked transfer portal class in the country according to On3. The Hoosiers are plenty of capable of making another deep CFP run, and that journey starts in Week 1 against North Texas. Here's to Hoosier football being back!
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