Confetti rested on the turf of Indiana football’s north endzone, nearly an hour after the No. 8 Hoosiers made history.
But the two weren’t related.
Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti’s daughter, Natalie, was proposed to on the field following the Hoosiers’ 20-15 victory over Michigan on Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington.
One can assume the proposal pleased Cignetti. So, too, did Indiana’s win over the defending national champion Wolverines, one he said postgame showcased his team’s resolve and competitive character.
But the architect of the No. 8 Hoosiers’ first-ever 10-win season in program history was far from pleased with his team’s overall product Saturday.
“I'm glad we won. I don't like the way we played,” Cignetti said. “I'm not happy with the way we played, particularly on offense in the second half. But it's a win. None of us are going to give it back.”
In the second half, Indiana’s offense tallied only 18 yards and failed to score, a stark contrast to a unit that entered the day ranked amongst the nation’s best in total yards and points per game.
Cignetti touted the Hoosiers’ defense, which held Michigan to three field goals and only one touchdown while averaging just two yards per rush. Still, he said the unit was on the field for too long, a byproduct of Michigan’s six conversions on third and fourth down and Indiana’s offensive woes.
As a result, after nine games of dominance — no margins of victory closer than 14 points — the Hoosiers found themselves teetering on the edge of disaster. Their 17-3 lead dwindled to 17-15 in the fourth quarter.
Indiana was tested on a level it hasn’t this season. It still wasn’t fazed.
“When you perform how we perform all year, there’s never doubt,” fifth-year senior receiver Ke’Shawn Williams said postgame. “We’re never on the sideline like, ‘Damn, this might be it.’ Like, nah, we know when we get out there and we do our thing, we’ve got to make some stuff happen.”
The Hoosiers seemingly break more and more records each week. Their victory over Michigan is their first as a ranked team against an unranked Wolverines squad, an allusion to the current state of both programs.
Redshirt sophomore receiver Omar Cooper Jr., who caught three passes for 53 yards and a touchdown, said postgame there was more weight on Saturday’s game due to the Wolverines’ championship 10 months prior.
Indiana’s drastic one-year turnaround is one of college football’s top stories. Regardless of how the Hoosiers’ fairytale season ends, they’ve already secured the most wins in program history.
Still, there’s more to do.
“It’s something we knew we were capable of,” Williams said. “It’s a conclusion of all the hard work that’s been put in thus far. It’s a milestone until where we actually want to go. We’re happy, but we’re not satisfied.”
Cignetti noted each game counts as one, regardless of the final score or, as he phrased it, lack of style points. The Hoosiers won’t hear many external voices claiming for them to be ranked higher, Cignetti said, but they try not to hear outside opinions anyway.
Indiana is an experienced team, one littered not only with age but players who have winning backgrounds. The Hoosiers have found ways to compartmentalize each week, savoring victories for 24 hours before pivoting onward.
In some cases, high-level performances have followed. In others, they haven’t. However, championship teams, Cignetti claimed, find ways to win.
The Hoosiers have done it more times this year than ever before. They’ll get a week off to rest their bodies and minds before playing perhaps the biggest regular-season game in program history against Ohio State on Nov. 23.
Almost one year to the day, Indiana was eliminated from bowl eligibility. Now, with Cignetti at the helm, the Hoosiers are thinking College Football Playoffs.
And even at 10-0, they’re still unsatisfied.
“No matter what we’ve done in the past,” Cooper said, “we’ve still got things to do in the future.”
Follow reporters Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) and Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and columnist Jhett Garrett (@jhettgarrett) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
