I can simultaneously acknowledge IU's meteoric rise to football powerhouse as a great story while wishing nothing but embarrassing failure for them along with every other Big Ten team. I expect nothing less from the fans of the other schools in the Big Ten too.
Just like with all the "SEC SEC SEC" chant nonsense people rightfully clown on, I will never understand the idea of cheering for the accomplishments of conference rivals.
To each their own. I just feel the bucket game would have been more exciting with both teams being undefeated rather than one being undefeated and the other winless.
The level of pride in football in Indiana's state insitutions is so low that they can actually root for each other if they're doing well. If you aren't Catholic or from South Bend, you're just a basketball fan anyway. I know that's basically true for IU, Purdue, and Ball State. Even among the diehards that won't ever do that... how many are there for football anyway?
They're all freakishly friendly fans (at least in football) as a result of not being regularly competitive.
I'm from the Deep South. Who cares about college ball - unless we're having a historic year, of course. I'm not into the viciousness of some people down there (who the fuck poisons a tree - x2!), but how do you ever root for a rival? Even in a sport you don't care about. Minus if they're playing someone you hate more, I guess.
Yeah I don't know. My school has not done anything in football, ever. But if I saw UNC in the CFP (fat chance!) I would be screaming at my TV cheering for whoever plays against them
There are multiple people responding to the same comment I did that are Purdue fans rooting for IU because it's just funny IU has somehow gotten in this position. I also live in the state and know at least one cheering them on.
I think them being terrible at football is so normal that it's funny watching them be great. Like when I watched hockey commentators joke about a perennial 4th line enforcer going for a hat trick after he got 2 goals in a game - his first game with a goal in over 2 years.
If there are Purdue fans rooting for IU then they aren’t Purdue fans. I would never root for “that team from West Lafayette.” The rivalry is sacred. So to make the blanket statement that everybody in Indiana is fair weather fans when it comes to football is just not true. Just my opinion. And I grew up in northeast Indiana.
Oh absolutely. We'll be insufferable just like a number of other fanbases when they win, but we also haven't been there before and may not know how to act.
This sub will turn on him just like the nfl sub turned on Campbell and the Lions but I’m enjoying Indiana and will always like Cig. Dude talks shit and coaches a fantastic brand of football.
I would hope it would take longer for the worst team in CFB history to become hated, but I'm onboard this train if they stay good enough that they're being hated in 2 years.
Crazy how your last point is so true. I don’t get how anyone can’t be a fan of what Indiana is doing. We are likely watching the greatest rebuild ever in college football. Bill Snyder and Kansas State is the only contender for that slot.
Hard to believe that “#1 team in the country” and “college football’s second worst program of all time” are both true. I still don’t believe it as I watch it.
My brother in Christ. This isn’t rebuild. They never had anything. This is like he plugged in a bouncy house and boom, there it is. This is like Bama 2009-2020. They’re beating ass man, and he’s not doing it with 4 and 5 stars like our teams have. It’s really, really impressive.
I shudder the thought. We all may have to conspire against them somehow. Let’s let them have a 3 good years max and then we find out what Cig’s personal weaknesses are. Is it the ladies? lol
Maybe more variability? Given that most of their dudes aren’t highly rated, I wonder if it’s easier for the staff to dispassionately evaluate skill and development. Also all the dudes aren’t highly rated highly motivated to get a shot at a top spot without entitlement.
If that changes and they start playing “stars” instead of dudes, could have more fluky play
Cig doesn’t strike me as the type of person that will compromise their values because someone else is supposed to be hot shit. I think his first question will be “what do they contribute to our culture” and anyone who doesn’t fit, won’t play.
How fast we forget. People were absolutely flaming Cig last playoffs and into the offseason for this personality everyone is now applauding.
The majority thought Indiana was a fraud and Cig was big talk but little bite in big games (his very conservative game in the CFP that appeared to be more worried about the margin of loss than going for a win).
I remember being heavily downvoted for saying, don’t we want controversial personalities?
I don't remember people saying that. People were both impressed and proud how far he took Indiana last year because they never had a season like that before in their entire history.
Would definitely happen sooner than you think. Was saying in the OSU sub that this feels very KC Chiefs coded. Everyone loves them now, but they show no signs of not being able to repeat this next year, if not get even better
I'm thrilled for IU, they deserve this after their football program was so bad for so long, but I also know what we're getting ourselves into here
May we all be so lucky to see the day. I've been a fan of Indiana because they always seemed to mess up someone's season in the B1G once every few years, so it was always fun for chaos reasons. Now, I'm a fan because 1) my girlfriend's alma mater, and 2) How can you not love this team and this coach?!
An interesting question is, how many titles would make them a new blue blood? Let’s say they win 5 out of the next 8. Are they now permanently on a level with programs like OSU and Texas and Bama and USC and ND? Or are they just a historically mediocre school with one hot hand?
Saban’s run WAS the greatest of all time and it’ll never be repeated in this era I don’t believe with the TP and NIL the way they are, and you’re right 5 in 9 would be more incredible. But blue blood is a LASTING impact.
Chasing a toddler, but that doesn’t change how unhinged my statement was lol. Congrats Hoosiers, you locked in the future of your program. Blood getting darker each game.
People gave him shit for his attitude last year but reality is that is exactly what Indiana needed.
If he's still doing the whole "Google me, I'm a winner" shtick next year than that's silly. But that's what you need to Kickstart a team. Attitude and belief that you can beat anyone.
Calling it here Cig is taking the mantle of the next Saban. He clearly has the general coaching ability but he has that never-satisfied-but-players-love-him attitude that was Sabans MO.
Nope. Fuck that. I cannot handle Indiana getting that. I’m cheering that they do well this year as the Cinderella, but I gotta listen to them enough during basketball season.
One of the things that I took from that recent 60 Minutes piece on your team's turnaround is that it was clear from the start of his tenure that he wasn't going to let the people around him at IU have a defeatist, loser mentality. Some may take issue with his personality, but he certainly understood the task before him.
These dudes just ARE football coaches but these guys would be great at whatever they did. If they were fucking brain surgeons theyd be the best at it too.
Cig landed our first Heisman winner with Mark Ingram II. That made the gang rape slightly less painful. He’s the best coach in college football right now, because he’s doing this with 1-3* players.
i think that’s what nil is doing. undefeated big ten champion indiana would be in the 4 team playoff and probably the old championship game too. the expanded playoff is really good for the sport though.
Undefeated IU would have had to pray there weren’t two other undefeated conference champions or a 1-loss Alabama or they absolutely would have been left out of the bcs championship
How does the playoff help with that? It seems to do the opposite. In the 11 year playoff era the champions have been Ohio State 2x, Alabama 3x, Clemson 2x, Georgia 2x, LSU, and Michigan. Runners-up have been Oregon, Clemson 2x, Alabama 3x, Georgia, Ohio State, TCU, Washington, and Notre Dame. Out of 11 possible unique winners and 22 unique participants, there have been 6 and 10, respectively. In 16 years of the BCS, there were 11 unique champs (but only 15 unique participants, maybe why people think the playoff is better?).
Indiana would have gone straight to the national championship game this year with the BCS system. The only thing the playoff really does is eliminate bitching from the #3 team in the country and transfer it to #13, cheapen every non-playoff bowl, and add more games and $$$.
Some BCS years the #3 team had a legit gripe, but overall I'd take it over the current system. I think a BCS points system with a 4 team playoff is best.
I could only dream of the success IU is having in football....but Iowa State has sucked historically at football for like 99% of our existence playing the sport.....but Matt Campbell (RIP to his Iowa State tenure) proved that the past of Iowa State football doesn't have to mean we continue to suck.
I mean Indiana is right there with us historically. The right hire changes everything no matter who you have been in the past. College football is a one year cycle now with the transfer portal and NIL.
Yep…I mean Nebraska is a prime example of continuing to hire coaches who just aren’t that good…people love to say their move to the Big Ten is why they suck except for much of their time in the Big Ten, they played an extremely easy schedule in one of the worst divisions in CFB and they still lost to those teams too.
IU struck gold with Cignetti and it’s fun to see a non-traditional power be good.
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u/cosmic_sheriff Oregon State Beavers • Tulane Green Wave Jan 02 '26 edited Jan 02 '26
"Why should it be too big, because our name is Indiana?"
Good answer coach