Indiana football’s Curt Cignetti ranked as No. 1 college football coach with ‘no hesitation’ by ESPN
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
Indiana football’s Curt Cignetti ranked as No. 1 college football coach with ‘no hesitation’ by ESPN appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
With Indiana football head coach Curt Cignetti looking to take college football by storm once again in the 2026 season, the goal for the program is to compete for another national championship, after winning it in the last go-around. As Cignetti looks to lead the Indiana football roster this upcoming season, he comes in as the top-ranked coach by ESPN.
In ESPN’s latest piece ranking all of college football’s head coaches, Cignetti comes in at No. 1, with half of the voters for the poll putting him at that spot. One was ESPN’s Dave Wilson, who was asked if there was any hesitation to put Cignetti at No. 1, especially with Georgia’s Kirby Smart right after.
“Not really,” Wilson wrote. “It takes a special coach to wrangle all the forces at a blue blood the way Kirby Smart has at Georgia while dominating the SEC. If it were easy, everyone who has had one of those jobs could do it. But we’ve never seen anything like what Curt Cignetti has done at Indiana, taking the losingest program in college football history to a national title in two years, after an 11-1 season at James Madison in 2023.”
Watch sports LIVE with fuboTV (free trial)
“In 125 seasons before Cignetti’s arrival, Indiana had never won 10 games and had won nine just twice, in 1945 and 1967, and had three total bowl wins,” Wilson continued. “He is 27-2 in two seasons in Bloomington (with three postseason wins last year alone) and added a national championship trophy during a span where the Big Ten has won three straight titles. If the definition of an elite coach is someone you’d trust to lead any program anywhere, he’s where you start.”
It’s hard to argue with how Cignetti rerouted the Hoosiers back into relevancy and, in quick work, to win a national championship, as the team looks to open the upcoming year monumentally on Sept. 5 against North Texas.
Related: What ‘fascinates’ ESPN insider about Michigan’s Kyle Whittingham hire after Utah success
Related: South Carolina State, Johnson C. Smith top preseason Black College Football Poll
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos