The Indiana Hoosiers went from one of the worst teams in the FBS to a national powerhouse once Curt Cignetti arrived in Bloomington as the new head coach.
The Hoosiers were 3-9 under Tom Allen in 2023 and improved to 11-2 in 2024, Cignetti’s first season with the team. He got them all the way to the College Football Playoff, only to win the national championship with a perfect 16-0 season in 2025.
This has rapidly shifted fan expectations for the currently No. 5-ranked Hoosiers. Winning is the expectation and fans are hungry for another title. Cignetti made sure to remind everyone not to get too greedy following recent complaints.
Curt Cignetti Wants IU Fans to Remain Humble
Indiana took down Western Kentucky by a final score of 38-0 last week, only for some complaints to appear on social media claiming the margin of victory should have been much higher.
Cignetti was not happy about that and brought it up on his weekly radio show.
“What are we, 29-2?” he asked. “When I came, I saw the pictures, 10,000 people in the stands. Don’t [expletive] about a 38-0 win.”
He actually undersold himself as the Hoosiers are 30-2 during his tenure. Both losses came in 2024, with one against Ohio State and the other against Notre Dame in the CFP.
Indiana hadn’t even won a bowl game since the 1991 Copper Bowl before Cignetti showed up and immediately made the team into a national contender. Thus, he is clearly not happy about hearing any complaints for his No. 5-ranked Hoosiers.
Road Ahead for Indiana
The Hoosiers are in action Friday night against a Northwestern team fresh off a blowout victory over Deion Sanders and Colorado. That is followed by back-to-back road games against Rutgers and Nebraska, respectively.
The real test comes October 17 at home against Ohio State. That is followed by a road game against Michigan. Wins in both of those should silence any critics for the remainder of the season, barring a surprising upset in another game. No. 12 USC is also on the schedule in November, though the Trojans have to make the long trip to Indiana when the weather should be the opposite of what will be seen in Southern California.
Cignetti is not one to hold back his true thoughts and it does seem he has a right to call out the fans. The team has outscored its opponents 145-16 through three games with two consecutive shutouts. A scoreless first quarter against Western Kentucky doesn’t take away from the overall dominance displayed by the Hoosiers thus far.
Curt Cignetti Calls Out Indiana Fans Over Recent Complaints