The Indiana Hoosiers have won the 2025-2026 National Championship. No, not in basketball, in football. If someone had said that a few seasons ago, you would’ve been laughed at, but now a dream has become a reality. How did Indiana pull off the impossible rebuild? How did they prove everyone wrong? How did one man’s dream become a reality? Here’s how it happened.
The Indiana Hoosiers finished the 2023-2024 season with a 3-9 record (1-8 Conference), yet again finishing at the bottom of the Big Ten. Indiana had a tough decision to make: should they keep their head coach, Tom Allen, who was 5th on the all-time wins list at Indiana and the 2020 Big Ten Coach of the Year, or should they look elsewhere for a new head coach to give the Hoosiers a fresh start?
On November 26th, the Indiana Hoosiers fired head coach Tom Allen, agreeing to pay a $15.5 million buyout. Now the Hoosiers were in full-on search mode for their next head coach. Over the next few days, dozens of names were flying around for the Indiana job. Some of those names included Jason Candle (Toledo), Paul Chryst (Former Wisconsin), Ryan Grubb (Washington OC), and Curt Cignetti (James Madison). Ultimately, the Hoosiers landed on the now infamous Curt Cignetti.
Cignetti was the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year and was coming off an 11-1 season as the head coach of the James Madison Dukes. Under Cignetti, JMU led the nation in both rushing defense and tackles for loss per game, and it had a top-20 scoring offense and scoring defense. Across five seasons, Cignetti had a 52-9 record at James Madison, including a 31-4 record in conference play. Cignetti knows how to coach, and little did we know what he was going to do for Indiana football.
This is when it all started, the 2024 off-season. Cignetti’s first line of work was focusing on a massive roster overhaul using the transfer portal. 13 of Cignetti’s former players at James Madison followed him to Indiana, including stars like WR Elijah Sarratt, LB Aiden Fisher, DL Mikail Kamara, and CB D’Angelo Ponds. These are just a few of the stars that have helped Indiana to where it is today. Cignetti’s major goal was to get rid of “softness”, instill a winning mentality, and teach a team how to win close games.
Cignetti’s first season couldn’t have started any better, winning their first ten games of the season by an average of 30.1 points per game. The Hoosiers, led by transfer QB Kurtis Rourke, were looking unstoppable. Everything was looking perfect until the Hoosiers ran into Ohio State, losing 15-38. This was the Hoosiers’ first real test of the year, and it was obvious that they were missing something. Indiana would finish the regular season with an 11-1 record, which would get them the 8th seed in the CFP. They would ultimately lose 17-27 to #5 Notre Dame in the first round, but that didn’t take away from the great season the Hoosiers had. Now it was time for Cignetti to take it to the next level.
Indiana was returning a lot of talent, but Cignetti knew they were missing something, and that was Fernando Mendoza, a transfer QB from California. Indiana knew he was good, but no one knew he was going to be this good. The Hoosiers also brought in key transfers, including RB Roman Hemby, OL Pat Coogan, and RB Lee Beebe Jr. Indiana was loaded, but many people had their doubts about the Hoosiers. They said “No way they can do it again”, and “they lost too many players, no way they will be as good as last season”. They were wrong, so wrong.
The Hoosiers got off to another hot start, winning their first 12 games by an average of 33.4 points per game. Unlike last season, the Hoosiers actually had some solid wins on their resume, including a 30-20 win over #3 Oregon, a 63-10 win over #9 Illinois, and a 20-15 win over Iowa. Now it was time for a rematch of last year; #2 Indiana was set to face off against #1 Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game. This game had huge implications, as it was likely going to decide who the #1 seed in the CFP was, who the Big Ten champion was, and it also had a big part in deciding who was going to win the Heisman trophy. Indiana defeated Ohio State 13-10 in a battle to the end. This wasn’t just Indiana proving to themselves that they could beat anyone, but this was Indiana proving to everyone that they could beat anybody.
Indiana was 13-0 heading into the CFP, their quarterback, Fernando Mendoza, was named the Heisman, and they were the #1 seed. Everything was looking great for the Hoosiers. After Indiana’s first-round bye, the Hoosiers would face off against #9 Alabama in the Rose Bowl Game. Many thought that this game would be a big test for the Hoosiers, and they were wrong. Indiana defeated Alabama 38-3 in a game that was over by halftime. Now it was time for another Big Ten rematch, as the Hoosiers would face off against the Oregon Ducks in the CFP Semifinals. This game was played in Atlanta, but the crowd was 90/10 in favor of the Hoosiers. Indiana defeated Oregon by a final score of 56-22, sending Indiana to the National Championship for the first time in school history.
The National Championship was played in Miami’s home stadium against the University of Miami. Yet somehow, Indiana fans were 60/40 during the game. Indiana opened up the first half, going up 10-0, thanks to a rushing touchdown from FB Riley Nowakowski and a 34-yard field goal from Nico Radicic. Going into halftime, Indiana had held Miami scoreless and led the Hurricanes 10-0. Coming out of the half, Miami RB Mark Fletcher Jr. took off for a 57-yard touchdown to cut Indiana’s lead to 3. Minutes later, Indiana blocked a punt and jumped on it for a touchdown to take their lead to 17-7. Miami would answer back with a touchdown, and so would Indiana. And in the final two minutes, Indiana extended their lead to 27-21 thanks to another field goal. Now it was Miami’s chance to land the final blow, as the Hurricanes had the ball with 1:42 remaining down six. Miami had a chance to win the National Championship, but quarterback Carson Beck threw an interception to Jamari Sharpe to seal the win for the Hoosiers. Mendoza kneeled twice to win the National Championship for the Indiana Hoosiers for the first time in school history.
History was made, as Coach Cignetti finally cracked a smile for the first time in his life. The job was done, and the most miraculous turnaround in college football history was completed. Curt Cignetti did the impossible. Fernando Mendoza is set to become the first pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. The Hoosiers currently have the #1 transfer portal class in the country, and Indiana has more NIL money than ever. This is just the start for Cignetti and the Hoosiers, the start of a college football powerhouse.
