At a Glance
- Curt Cignetti led Indiana to its first national championship with a 27-21 win over Miami in the College Football Playoff final.
- The 64-year-old coach used bold fourth-down calls and a rebuilt roster to complete a perfect season.
- Indiana became the first program to go from unranked to national champion in just one season.
- Why it matters: The victory shatters decades of losing tradition and proves a small-market program can reach the summit.
Curt Cignetti promised championships when he arrived in Bloomington. On Monday night, he delivered the biggest one of all.
The Perfect Finish
Playing before 67,227 fans at Hard Rock Stadium, Indiana capped an undefeated season with a 27-21 victory over Miami. The win gives the Hoosiers their first national title in program history and marks one of the most dramatic turnarounds in college football.
Cignetti’s team entered the game as heavy underdogs but controlled the tempo with a gutsy game plan. Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza accounted for two touchdowns, including the decisive fourth-quarter score.
Bold Calls Seal the Win
The defining moment came with nine minutes left. Facing fourth-and-4 at the Miami 12, Cignetti initially sent on the kicker, then called timeout.
He huddled the offense and dialed up a quarterback draw. Mendoza took the snap, slipped a tackle and barreled into the end zone for a 10-point lead.
“We put it in for this game,” Cignetti said. “It was a quarterback draw, but it was blocked differently. We rolled the dice.”
The sequence capped a drive that featured another fourth-down conversion. On fourth-and-5 from the 37, Mendoza hit Charlie Becker on a back-shoulder pass for 19 yards.
From IUP to Immortality
Cignetti started his head-coaching career in 2011 at Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He worked Thanksgiving weekends waxing tables while the campus sat empty.
“Did I ever think something like this was possible? Probably not,” he said. “If you keep your nose down in life and keep working, anything is possible.”
He stacked wins at Elon and James Madison before jumping to the Big Ten. Skeptics questioned whether his methods would translate. He answered with a now-famous line: “I win. Google me.”
Monday night made him the first head coach to win a national title in his first or second season with a program since Auburn’s Gene Chizik in 2010.
A Stoic Celebration
Cignetti rarely shows emotion. He didn’t flinch when Indiana defensive lineman Mikail Kamara blocked a Dylan Joyce punt to set up a touchdown. He offered only a brief fist pump after Mendoza’s final score.
Even when Jamari Sharpe intercepted Miami’s Carson Beck in the closing minute, Cignetti kept his eyes on the clock, waiting for zeros. Once they hit, he sprinted onto the field and pointed skyward.
“We won the national championship at Indiana University,” he said. “It can be done.”
Only then did he crack a smile.
Roster Overhaul Pays Off
Cignetti leveraged the transfer portal and name, image and likeness money to reshape the roster. The result: Indiana’s first No. 1 ranking and a perfect 15-0 record.
The Hoosiers entered the season unranked and left as champions, a feat no program has achieved in the poll era.
Key Takeaways
- Indiana finished 15-0, the only undefeated season in school history
- Cignetti’s fourth-down gambles in the fourth quarter swung momentum for good
- The win ends decades of losing tradition in Bloomington
- Mendoza’s touchdown run with nine minutes left provided the final margin
