So, the Hoosiers are undefeated!? And coming off a bye week. But the Buckeyes will be looking to end or at least put a temporary hold on IU’s storybook season.
The Ohio State Buckeyes host the resurgent (or, uh, surgent for the first time?) Indiana Hoosiers this weekend, as OSU hopes to knock off undefeated IU and continue their own march toward a Big Ten Championship Game… and hopefully a CFP National Championship.
But doing so won’t be the same easy task it was and has been for several years. IU is competing and winning like never before under Curt Cignetti, who is new to the Hoosier state and the Big Ten, but not (to) winning. Prior to accepting the head coach position in Bloomington, Cignetti compiled a 119-35 record at IUP, Elon and James Madison, including a wildly impressive 52-9 mark at the latter.
So perhaps for very good reason(s), the Indiana HC comes across as a supremely confident individual. Which is likely part of the reason that he introduced himself to many Big Ten football fans with just four simple words last December: “I win. Google me.”
Indiana Coach Curt Cignetti: I win. Google me.
Nick Saban vibes. pic.twitter.com/FyOjgRPIW8
— Jacob Davis (@JacobScottDavis) December 23, 2023
And who could blame him, right? Frankly, I love the bravado. However, I think it’s also worth noting that if one were to Google Cignetti, one would see that he advanced to just one FCS Championship Game (and lost) while suffering a handful of early playoff losses/exits. So… Yeah, he wins. And has won quite a bit. But hold off on any Nick Saban comps.
As for Cignetti’s team, well, they’re making the new ball coach look pretty damn good. Although, it’s definitely a two-way street. The Hoosiers are firing on all cylinders, thanks in part to a bunch of new players and presumably a newfound confidence which mirrors that of “Coach Cig”. Now and somewhat miraculously, Indiana is a top-5 team looking to go undefeated and potentially quadruple last year’s win total (in just the regular season).
Here are a few more things you should know about the Indiana Hoosiers:
Indiana University gave us The Hunger Games… Sort of. Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games series, earned a BA from IU in 1985, before going on to pretty much change the entire course of adolescent and young adult history.
Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Lionsgate
IU also gave us one of the most influential people in Ohio State athletic(s) history… Again, sort of. If you know anything about OSU basketball especially, then you are likely very familiar with the name Schottenstein. However, you might be surprised to find out that Jay Schottenstein – chairman and CEO of Schottenstein Stores Corp. and son of Jerome – is actually (also?) a Hoosier.
Still, Buckeye Nation is very, very, very appreciative of everything that he and his family have done for THE university.
A Hoosier is simply a native or inhabitant of Indiana. Seriously, that’s it. Hence, no embodiment and no mascot for IU, though the university and its football team adopted and experimented with both a bulldog and a bison in the 1960s.
And you thought the Stanford tree was bad. At least it’s something!
The Hoosiers’ football team had never won 10+ games prior to this season…
But with Cignetti now calling the shots, Indiana has gone from B1G cellar dweller to CFP lock…
Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images
Due in part to a softer-than-Charmin schedule. Look, it is what it is. And teams can only play/defeat the opponent(s) on their schedule. But let’s not ignore the fact that IU hasn’t played a ranked team all season. Their “toughest” opponent thus far was arguably Washington.
That being said, the Hoosiers absolutely, unequivocally deserve credit for dog-walking and dismantling most of the teams they’ve faced. Including the Cornhuskers.
Coach Cig brought the ol’ James Madison gang with him, and it has paid off big-time. The Hoosiers brought in several of Cignetti’s former JMU players, including (IU’s) leading receiver Elijah Sarratt, leading tackler Aiden Fisher, and leading sack artist Mikail Kamara. All three have hit the ground running in Bloomington, along with several other transfers — from JMU and elsewhere.
Former Ohio U. quarterback and MAC MVP Kurtis Rourke is a P5 stud. The sixth-year QB from Canada is proving that 2022 was no fluke. That is the year Rourke won MAC MVP and MAC Offensive POTY, throwing for over 3,200 yards and 25 touchdowns. He had a down season in 2023 but has bounced back nicely under the tutelage of Cignetti and IU OC Mike Shanahan, one of Coach Cig’s longtime assistants.
This season, Rourke has passed for 2,410 yards and 21 TD, with a 71.8 completion percentage.
Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images
Indiana’s defense has done a complete and honestly, stunning, 180. The Hoosiers finished each of the last three seasons ranked outside the top-100 in points per game allowed. But this year, they are ranked 7th, allowing just 13.8 PPG. Sheesh!
Indiana hasn’t beaten Ohio State since 1988. Closes eyes and crosses fingers… Not a jinx, not a jinx, not a jinx!