Curt Cignetti finishes his masterpiece, coaching unbeaten Indiana to title in his 2nd season

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Curt Cignetti came to Indiana to win championships.

The old-school, blunt-spoken coach who began his Hoosiers tenure with a promise to bring swift success to the losingest program in college football completed his masterpiece on Monday night, guiding Indiana to a 27-21 win over Miami in the College Football Playoff final and the first national championship in school history.

Cignetti accomplished what few imagined could be done — at least not this quickly. But after taking advantage of the transfer portal and name, image and likeness money to build a championship roster, Cignetti coached the Hoosiers to their first No. 1 ranking, and they finished off an undefeated campaign in front of 67,227 fans at Hard Rock Stadium, concluding one of the most surprising turnarounds in college football history.

Cignetti — who began his head coaching career at Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2011 — became the first head coach to win a national title in his first or second season with a team since Gene Chizik led Auburn to the championship in 2010.

''What's this moment like for me?'' Cignetti said. ''Back when I was waxing the staff table at IUP Thanksgiving weekend and the school was shut down for the playoffs … Did I ever think something like this was possible? Probably not. If you keep your nose down in life and keep working, anything is possible.''

Cignetti kept working and kept winning through stints at Elon and James Madison before he made the leap to the Big Ten and dismissed skeptics by saying, ''I win. Google me.''

On Monday night, Cignetti described his team's performance as gutsy. He certainly called the game that way with a pair of fourth-down gambles on a scoring drive in the fourth quarter that ended with a bruising touchdown run by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza.

The next was a call from fourth-and-4 at the 12 that was by far the biggest of the game.

Cignetti initially sent his kicker out but then called a timeout. The team huddled on the field, and the coach drew up a quarterback draw. Mendoza scored, slipping a tackle and muscling his way into the end zone to put the Hoosiers up by 10 with nine minutes left.

''We put it in for this game,'' Cignetti said. ''It was a quarterback draw, but it was blocked differently. And we rolled the dice and said they're going to be in (the same defense) again. We blocked it well. He broke a tackle or two and got into the end zone.''

The bold call was fitting, considering how improbable it was that Indiana was playing for the title.

Indiana had never won more than nine games in a season before Cignetti's arrival two years ago, and in 2022 became the first Bowl Subdivision program to reach 700 losses.

Cignetti brought 13 players from JMU to Indiana and saw the potential in Mendoza, who transferred from California.

''Coach Cig changed my life,'' said standout linebacker Aiden Fisher, who followed Cignetti from JMU. ''From a kid that felt like I was under-recruited, that I deserved more attention than I got. ... The amount of confidence he built in me, the trust and belief he had in me — I mean, why would you leave that? When a coach cares that much about you and sees so much for your future. He's talked about development and growth for me all the time. It was a no-brainer. I owe a lot to him. He's an unbelievable coach, but he's an unbelievable person.''

A Pittsburgh native and the son of College Football Hall of Fame coach Frank Cignetti Sr., Cignetti graduated from West Virginia in 1982 and began coaching as an assistant at Pitt. He spent the next 24 years working his way up the college football ranks before landing with Nick Saban in Alabama as a recruiting coordinator and receivers coach.

That was Cignetti's last stop before making the jump to head coach at IUP in 2011.

''I never really thought this was possible,'' he said. "But I just kept working, and things happened. And here we are."

The 64-year-old threw his hands up briefly in triumph after Mendoza scored. Even as Indiana players began celebrating victory after Miami native Jamari Sharpe intercepted the Hurricanes' Carson Beck in the final minute, Cignetti's eyes remained on the field, waiting for the final seconds to tick off the clock.

Once it was final, as confetti began to hit the ground, Cignetti sprinted onto the field and pointed toward the sky.

''We won the national championship at Indiana University,'' he said. ''It can be done.''

After that, he cracked a smile.

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