Curt Cignetti and the Indiana Hoosiers wrapped up an impressive, undefeated college football season with a hard-fought win in Monday night’s National Championship Game.
Behind Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza and his teammates, Indiana achieved a 27-21 victory. That included a highlight-worthy play with Mendoza scoring a twisting and diving touchdown for his team.
It also featured Indiana’s defense securing the win, as Jamari Sharpe intercepted a Carson Beck pass that would’ve put his team closer to scoring, if not for a game-winning touchdown.
The victory brought much excitement and celebration to the Indiana Hoosiers, who won their first-ever CFP National Championship. This season, they also became a success story about how great a college football coach Curt Cignetti is, shaped by the culture he built within the program.
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While appearing on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd,” Fox Sports commentator and college football coaching legend Urban Meyer offered several cautionary messages for Cignetti on his program after the championship win.
Meyer spoke about how, back in the day, several programs, including Michigan State, were great at recruiting guys who weren’t five-star players and developing them into much better players. He indicated that after the Spartans achieved a Rose Bowl win, they “started getting highly, highly recruited guys to either visit or commit.”
“You start to lose some of that underdog, ‘We’re the misfits. We’re gonna just outwork you.’” So I think they gotta be very cautious,” he said, referring to Cignetti not losing the culture he built.
“The other thing he’s got to be aware of, he’s gonna start losing that staff. Those two coordinators, how they’re not head coaches yet, with what they’ve done there, if there’s ever more deserving of two coordinators that belong to be head coaches, it’s Shanahan and Haynes,” Meyer told Cowherd.
Mike Shanahan is the team’s offensive coordinator, while Bryant Haines is Indiana’s defensive coordinator. Based on Meyer’s remarks, Cignetti needs to be careful with how he approaches the future at Indiana.
According to 247Sports, Indiana ranks No. 7 in NCAA Transfer Portal rankings with 17 commits. None of those commits are five-stars; five are four-stars, and nine are three-stars.
The team will lose its superstar quarterback, Fernando Mendoza, who many project to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft in several months.
Former TCU QB Josh Hoover is among their incoming transfers to help address that, and they also have multiple commits to key offensive and defensive positions, including wide receiver, running back, safety, and more.
Losing two crucial members of their coaching staff could deal a tough blow to the program, although Cignetti has shown his resilience and ability to build a winning coaching staff and roster.
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