Once, we had to google Curt Cignetti to find out the level of coach he is. During Monday night's College Football Playoff championship game, we witnessed first hand. The Indiana Hoosiers beat the Miami Hurricanes to hoist their first college football national title. In an instant classic of a game, Indiana looked like all-timers.
Indiana was tough, gritty, and disciplined. Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza took a beating and a half. Yet, literally bloody and bruised, he put his body on the line to reach out for the game-winning score.
The Hoosier defense blanked Miami in the first half. They broke up seven passes — D'Angelo Ponds swatting three of those himself — and sealed the game with Jamari Sharpe's interception.
Now the first 16-0 champions in college football, Indiana's run deserves a hallowed place in the history of the sport.
Putting Indiana's 16-0 season in perspective
Indiana football just completed the greatest season in college football, ever. I'm not saying that as a prisoner of the moment. No team has ever put together such a complete campaign. They were elite on offense, defense and special teams. They were perfect from start to finish while playing as tough a slate as any en route to a title. And, frankly, they looked every bit the best team in the land.
Elite in all phases
FEI is an opponent-adjusted efficiency metric. It takes the feelings out of evaluating teams and measures how well they actually played. Indiana ranked No. 2 in offensive FEI, No. 3 in defensive FEI and No. 5 in special teams FEI.
In terms of overall FEI, they are the highest rated team in the history of the metric, going back to 2007. That's higher than 2021 Georgia and 2018 Alabama.
It's the fact that they were good at everything that sets them apart. It wasn't just Fernando Mendoza and the offense winning them games, like 2019 LSU with Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson. They weren't a defensive juggernaut with a passable offense led by a freshman like 2016 Alabama. They were dominant across the board with the Heisman Trophy winner and company averaging 42.6 points per game and a defense that racked up 46 sacks via a ferocious front and19 interceptions from a shutdown secondary.
And let's not forget about special teams. The Hoosiers had two punt return touchdowns and blocked four kicks — one of them in the national championship game.
Strength of schedule
No one can accuse this Indiana team of not earning their title. They went to Autzen and beat Oregon, who hadn't lost at home since 2022, by 10. They took down defending national champion Ohio State in the Big Ten title game. No. 9 Alabama bowed down by 35. Then they annihilated the Ducks in the playoff, 52-22, becoming the first CFP team to win a postseason rematch. And in a championship game that made clear both participants were excellent, they emerged on top.
For the record, here are the FEI ranks for every team Indiana beat in the top 25:
FEI Ranks | OVERALL | OFF | DEF | STs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Oregon | 2 | 4 | 7 | 10 |
Ohio State | 3 | 8 | 2 | 55 |
Miami | 6 | 14 | 4 | 46 |
Alabama | 12 | 12 | 13 | 69 |
Iowa | 15 | 49 | 8 | 1 |
Illinois | 22 | 13 | 51 | 24 |
Seven of 16 wins for Indiana were against truly quality teams. That includes facing quarterbacks like Dante Moore and Julian Sayin and Ty Simpson, who all figure to be first round draft picks.
The eye test
In the end, Indiana and Miami put on such a show in the national championship game because they were by far the toughest teams in the CFP. The Hoosiers especially played with a level of mettle and aggression that jumped off the screen.
Cornerback D'Angelo Ponds is only 5-foot-9, 170 pounds but he put receivers on an island like Darrelle Revis. Linebacker Aiden Fischer is undersized at 6-foot-1, 233 pounds but he flew around the field all season making plays with pure instinct and grit. And that entire defensive front? They're a brick wall.
Mendoza set the tone on offense by clawing for every yard. His running backs — Kaelon Black and Roman Hemby — ran hard even as Miami shut the door on them time and time again. And receivers like Charlie Becker made the tough grabs again and again.
There were points throughout the CFP run when Indiana looked unstoppable. In the end, they literally were.
The context
Indiana may have been inevitable in 2025, but we have to remember: The Hoosiers winning it all at any point this century would have been unfathomable this time in 2024. Curt Cignetti won nearly as many games in his two seasons in charge (27) than Indiana had won in the six seasons before he arrived.
Cignetti didn't flip the roster and culture of a sleeping giant. The Hoosiers have spent most of their history struggling for bowl eligibility, not competing for hardware.
Alabama having the season Indiana just had would have been impressive. That it was Indiana who did it makes the whole endeavor that much more remarkable.
Even Cignetti sounded in awe after the game when he declared, "We won the national championship at Indiana University. It can be done."
Unlikely champions can come from anywhere, but with all due respect to Cignetti, I don't think this great of a season can or will be done again.