Indiana’s Curt Cignetti should feel disrespected

Indiana’s Curt Cignetti should feel disrespected

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Indiana’s Curt Cignetti should feel disrespected

“It’s pretty simple: I win. Google me.” That was the first soundbite from the first press conference after Curt Cignetti was named the Head Coach of Alabama football. And in his first two years at Indiana, that’s exactly what he’s done.

Cignetti immediately turned the program around in year 1 and won 11 games and was selected for a College Football Playoff berth in 2024. The encore in 2025 was something that no one could have seen coming – a perfect 15-0 season with a Big Ten Championship and a National Championship – except maybe Cignetti himself.

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Too much disrespect

Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti

Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti prepares to lift the trophy on the podium after the College Football Playoff National Championship college football game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. Credit: USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect (Reuters)

Now, as we sit on the eve of the 2026 season, a guy who does nothing except win finds himself sitting 6th in the AP Poll, directly after winning a National Championship. What gives? What is up with this disrespect of Cignetti and his Hoosiers?

Well, for starters, Indiana lost their Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza to the Las Vegas Raiders. They are also rolling over a big chunk of their roster, with a returning production rate of 56% according to ESPN’s Bill Connelly, which ranks 80th among all 138 FBS teams. However, in the portal era, reloading a roster is as easy as ever. Thanks to an influx of NIL money sparked by recent success, Indiana nabbed the 8th-ranked transfer portal class, according to 247 Sports.

So, here’s the bottom line: Is a team losing their quarterback, but not having a completely bare cupboard, enough cause for concern to rank a defending champion 6th in a preseason poll? Well, go back and look at previous National Champions to see where they were ranked in the following preseason.

What history tells us

Jan 8, 2024; Houston, TX, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh, running back Blake Corum (2), defensive back Will Johnson (2), and quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) talks to the media in a press conference after winning 2024 College Football Playoff national championship game against the Washington Huskies at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Since 2010, only two defending National Champions have been ranked 6th or worse in the following preseason’s AP poll. 2020 LSU ranked 6th after losing Joe Burrow and a literal Pro Bowl team to the NFL, and 2024 Michigan ranked 9th after QB JJ McCarthy, HC Jim Harbaugh, and 13 total draft picks went to the NFL. So for those teams, it took an entire cleaning of the roster to rank in the same spot or worse than Indiana finds themselves. 

You can’t help but also think that if Indiana weren’t one of the losingest football programs of all-time, they wouldn’t be ranked 6th. Georgia, Alabama, and Ohio State, who could be classified as traditional bluebloods and factories of NFL talent, have never finished worse than #3 in the AP Poll after winning a National Championship.

So, to answer the original question, YES, Curt Cignetti should feel disrespected. Because his program is being treated as lesser than the greats of the sport, when his resume is more commensurate with the history of those programs than that of Indiana.

For what it’s worth, the advanced metrics are fairly aligned with the polls, as Bill Connelly’s SP+ has the Hoosiers at #5, and the Sagarin rankings have them at #4. So, now, the only question is: how does Curt Cignetti use this disrespect to fuel a run at back-to-back championships?

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