Curt Cignetti on Indiana’s turnaround: ‘It would be one hell of a movie’
By David Wasson
Published:
From the moment he uttered “I win, Google me,” at his introductory news conference, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti has authored perhaps the most unlikely turnaround in college football history.
The Hoosiers had the ignominious distinction of carrying the most losses and the worst winning percentage in Division I history when Cignetti was hired. Two years later, Indiana is the consensus Big Ten champion for just the second time in history, the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff and romped past No. 9 seed Alabama 38-3 in a shockingly-lopsided Rose Bowl.
After Indiana was awarded the Leishman Trophy for the first time in program history, Cignetti was asked onstage how to quantify the Hoosiers’ worst-to-first turnaround.
“It would be one hell of a movie,” Cignetti deadpanned to ESPN’s Rece Davis.
Cignetti’s Hoosiers (14-0) dominated Alabama throughout the College Football Playoff quarterfinals in Pasadena, racking up 407 yards of total offense and running the football for a bruising 215 yards. Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza finished with more touchdown passes (3) than incompletions (2), and Alabama (11-4) mustered only a 28-yard Conor Talty field goal on the third quarter.
Indiana advances to play No. 5 seed Oregon in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 9, a rematch of a regular season game that the Hoosiers won 30-20 in Eugene on Oct. 11.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
