Smoke slowly rose from cannons. A sea of red in Memorial Stadium waved white towels with Marlboro-branded “Cignetti” embedded in red ink, a nod to head coach Curt Cignetti. “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC blared over the speakers.
Indiana football emerged from its north endzone tunnel a few minutes before noon Saturday, Cignetti leading his undefeated troops into battle.
Less than three hours later, as the clock approached the two-minute timeout and Indiana held a comfortable 31-17 lead over Washington, chants of “Hoosier Daddy” rained down from the student section, still covered in red with minimal open seats. With a minute and a half remaining, chants shifted as fans sang goodbye to the Huskies. With one minute left, students returned to “Hoosier Daddy.”
And when the clock hit zero, chants exploded into cheers. Players darted to the student section, high fiving those in the front row as “All I Do Is Win” by DJ Khaled played throughout the stadium.
The culture, perhaps more than ever before, has changed.
Indiana (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten) overcame the injury-related absence of sixth-year senior quarterback Kurtis Rourke and the pressure that accompanies an excess of national attention to nab a 31-17 victory over Washington (4-4, 2-3 Big Ten) on Saturday afternoon.
Cignetti acknowledged postgame the Hoosiers didn’t play their best, nor did they execute at the highest level. They not only survived but won a Big Ten game by two scores — which Cignetti dubbed a gutsy performance emblematic of his team’s makeup.
“I told the team after the game, ‘Really good teams, championship teams, they find ways to win games, and that's what we did today,’” Cignetti said. “We found ways to win a game.”
Cignetti isn’t the first Hoosier to mention championships. Redshirt junior defensive lineman Mikail Kamara said the word after Indiana’s 41-24 win over Northwestern on Oct. 5 to move to 6-0.
Still undefeated after two more Big Ten tests, Kamara isn’t backing down from his stance — which he feels is only stronger after Nebraska, which lost 56-7 to Indiana on Oct. 19, nearly upset No. 4 Ohio State on the road Saturday.
“It didn’t slip out — I’m still about it,” Kamara said postgame. “You see what we saw with Nebraska (on Saturday). I think we can go out there and win. We’ve just got to keep staying focused — we can’t let the clutter get in the way of anything. We’ve just got to keep on going every single day.”
It’s a task made significantly easier by having a veteran roster, something Cignetti has noted many times this season. Yet it’s possible nothing has tested Indiana’s poise more than the past week.
After Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff visited Bloomington for the Nebraska game, ESPN’s College GameDay made its first traditional trip to Bloomington on Saturday. Memorial Stadium was sold out for the second consecutive game, part of a four-game stretch of sellouts to close the regular season.
National attention is swarming Indiana.
Cignetti briefly spoke to the team about GameDay’s presence Oct. 21, but they didn’t dwell on it. The Hoosiers discussed GameDay again for 15 seconds after Friday night’s walkthrough, Cignetti said, noting it’s great for exposure but can result in players losing focus.
Fifth-year senior running back Justice Ellison, who turned a career-high 29 carries into 123 yards and one touchdown, recalled postgame his first experience playing after College GameDay hosted a show beforehand.
It came in 2020 against Clemson University during Ellison’s freshman season at Wake Forest University. He said he ran around like a jackrabbit, incognizant of anything happening around him. Now, four years removed and carrying 51 appearances under his belt, Ellison dominated in the aftermath of college football’s top pregame show.
Ellison is one instance of a Hoosier who’s played at a winning program and dealt with success previously. The roster is littered with several others, Kamara said, a sentiment echoed by Ellison.
“We’ve got a veteran team,” Ellison said. “A lot of us played in big games before. The crowd, the media, GameDay — that’s for the fans. We’re going to get a part of that too, but it’s about winning. We had our mindset like, ‘Trust your roles, trust your technique, just play football.’ That’s all it is at the end of the day.”
Throughout his productive game, Ellison said he talked to himself, urging the need to get a first down or pick up four-to-five yards. He asked the offensive line for more of a push to help his cause.
Why?
“Because those type of things really help this team elevate the jersey,” Ellison said.
So does Cignetti. Sixth-year senior center Mike Katic said Indiana has adopted the moxie, swagger and mindset of its coach, which includes entering each week with no doubt about securing a victory.
Cignetti’s confidence started long before the Hoosiers won their first game Aug. 31. Sophomore cornerback D’Angelo Ponds, who had two interceptions Saturday, said postgame Cignetti told him in a recruiting pitch last winter Indiana would go undefeated.
Such belief translates to the practice field and is illuminated during games, Ponds added. It’s also shown on campus. Kamara wears an Indiana football backpack around campus, and he said people approach him and ask who he is. The same student body packed Memorial Stadium on Saturday, an indication of the passion and optimism brewing around the program.
“Winning in general is just something I love, and I think everyone loves,” Kamara said. “You can see everyone’s faces changing, the smile on everyone’s faces. The amount of people talking about Indiana football — this is so different. Like, it’s just a different vibe.”
But the Hoosiers have more motivation than just winning. When Cignetti rebuilt the team’s roster over the offseason, he brought 12 players with him from James Madison University, including Kamara, Ponds and several other starters. A handful of others transferred from Group of Five or Football Championship Subdivision schools where the lights aren’t as bright.
The result, Kamara said, is a hungry team with a chip on its shoulder. Players are trying to prove what they’ve long known: they not only belong, but they can dominate in the Big Ten, one of college football’s powerhouse conferences.
Ponds said he committed to Indiana to face receivers like Washington sixth-year senior Giles Jackson and redshirt sophomore Denzel Boston, each of whom entered Saturday ranked top five in the conference in receiving yards. Ponds rose to the occasion, intercepting his first two passes at Indiana while returning one for a touchdown –– the first pick-six of his career.
But Ponds said after the game the Hoosiers can’t dwell on Saturday’s result, for better or worse. Their goal is to go 1-0 each week, which they’ve done in eight consecutive opportunities.
The result is an 8-0 record, and while Cignetti said Saturday’s film won’t often be pretty, he also said Indiana is what its record says it is — and the Hoosiers’ intangibles support their unblemished start.
“I think this is a close team with a lot of competitive character,” Cignetti said. “Guys that really want to be good, have the right stuff and they found a way to win.”
Katic returned to Indiana because he wanted exactly that: to be good. He initially declared for the 2024 NFL Draft but reversed course after talking with Cignetti.
In 2023, Katic watched as Indiana trudged to a 3-9 record before firing head coach Tom Allen. Reflecting on the campaign, Katic said Aug. 27 he saw some of his teammates check out when the season slipped away.
Now, his teammates — many of whom are new — are bought in. Ellison had blood on his thumbnail after the game. Cignetti mentioned the guts of his team three times in his opening statement.
And the Hoosiers’ fairytale season now enters November with dreams of a College Football Playoff appearance growing more realistic — one snap, chant and nationally televised pre-game show at a time.
“I love this place with all my heart,” Katic said. “And I’m so, so proud of this team and these coaches for breaking through and getting Indiana football back on top.”
Follow reporters Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) and Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and columnist Jhett Garrett (@jhettgarrett) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
