r/CFB • u/CFB_Referee /r/CFB • Jan 20 '26

Postgame Thread [Postgame Thread] Indiana Defeats Miami 27-21

Box Score provided by ESPN

Team 1 2 3 4 T
Miami 0 0 7 14 21
Indiana 3 7 7 10 27
14.6k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

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7.7k

u/tstk799 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Jan 20 '26

THE GREATEST TURNAROUND OF A COLLEGE FOOTBALL PROGRAM WE WILL EVER SEE ENDS WITH A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!

5.1k

u/suzukigun4life North Texas • Summertime Lover Jan 20 '26

Before Cignetti: Most losses in CFB history. Zero double-digit win seasons in 135 years of existence.

Since Cignetti showed up: 27-2 record, double-digit win seasons in both years, and an undefeated, 16-0 National Championship season.

Build the statue immedieately.

3.0k

u/eye_can_see_you Texas Longhorns • Team Chaos Jan 20 '26

"I win. Google me." is such a bold statement to make getting hired at the worst CFB program in history, and then he fucking backed it up

771

u/TbRays93Plumber26 Utah Utes • Florida Gators Jan 20 '26

I remember memes from last season giving him shit. I dont think their will be memes anymore

290

u/narfidy Jan 20 '26

Memes about the meme makers probably

42

u/thegeeseisleese Notre Dame Fighting Irish Jan 20 '26

The memes were kind of wild last season anyway considering the only teams he has lost to at IU were both in the natty

5

u/tell-u-wut Indiana Hoosiers Jan 20 '26

Interesting- never thought about it that way. People were trashing him left and right last year after that OSU loss

24

u/Srirachafarian Indiana Hoosiers • Texas Longhorns Jan 20 '26

There will be memes but not for the same reason

19

u/Osiris32 Oregon Ducks • /r/CFB Brickmason Jan 20 '26

I have altered the memes. Pray I do not alter them any further.

9

u/Extreme_Extent3805 Jan 20 '26

You can't spell memories without memes!

2

u/Gray_side_Jedi Colorado Buffaloes • Wisconsin Badgers Jan 20 '26

Given that he just turned into the CFB equivalent of Genghis Khan, I reckon everyone else will want to give him as little motivation/bulletin board material as possible…

1

u/kcknuckles Notre Dame • Nebraska Jan 20 '26

We are the memes now.

-35

u/Icy-Split6920 Ohio State • Notre Dame Jan 20 '26

The memes were fair at the time

22

u/pataoAoC Oregon Ducks • Team Chaos Jan 20 '26

It doesn't work like that

-7

u/Icy-Split6920 Ohio State • Notre Dame Jan 20 '26

Idk man they were pretty funny and valid

7

u/mukduk1994 Utah Utes • Army Black Knights Jan 20 '26

And they aren't anymore. They also weren't then either

-10

u/Icy-Split6920 Ohio State • Notre Dame Jan 20 '26

They are definitely still funnt

13

u/mukduk1994 Utah Utes • Army Black Knights Jan 20 '26

Then you can go off to your little corner and laugh at them by yourself

1

u/Icy-Split6920 Ohio State • Notre Dame Jan 20 '26

Why are you so pressed?

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2

u/tell-u-wut Indiana Hoosiers Jan 20 '26

Valid? They went from 3-9 to 11-2 his first season and lost to OSU who won the chip.

-1

u/Icy-Split6920 Ohio State • Notre Dame Jan 20 '26

Right. So from an Ohio State fans perspective the memes were valid and they were funny.

We saw this guy walk into a basketball game, say we sucked, and then he proceeded to get blown out by the Buckeyes. Hence the memes, and Will Howard's gesture were valid.

I like Cignetti, but to pretend he wasn't arrogant and humbled in 2024 is silly. 

470

u/daswassup13 Virginia • North Carolina Jan 20 '26

"A national championship at Indiana, it can be done" I got chills in that postgame speech

5

u/tragicallyohio Ohio State Buckeyes • Ohio Bobcats Jan 20 '26

I'm not sure it can be done with anyone else. Cignetti got that Bloomington hoodoo.

481

u/Huge-Error-2206 Jan 20 '26

It was a cool quote then but in retrospect it might be the single coldest line I’ve ever heard.

23

u/Wonderful_Rest_573 Indiana Hoosiers • Sickos Jan 20 '26

In retrospect I think it was a warning

24

u/godisoursavior Iowa Hawkeyes • Texas Longhorns Jan 20 '26

The tiktok edits are about to crazyyy lol

10

u/joethahobo Houston Cougars • Pac-12 Jan 20 '26

I cannot wait to see those 30 second edits now, where he says the line then shows some big plays and Indiana winning it all

20

u/SoCalMemePolice Virginia Cavaliers • Boise State Broncos Jan 20 '26

Bro cashed in only two years 😭

4

u/bothcavs Virginia Cavaliers • Ohio State Buckeyes Jan 20 '26

So insane

4

u/PrairiePilot Wyoming Cowboys Jan 20 '26

He’s got shit to do, can’t be faffing about.

17

u/Jewish_Dragon Jan 20 '26

Such a bold statement to make so fucking cold to back it up like he did

32

u/Cruel_but_usual Louisville Cardinals Jan 20 '26

I mean the context was “How will you recruit athletes to Indiana?” from a reporter. It’s actually a great answer to the question.

18

u/Comprehensive-Car190 Jan 20 '26

And then he was like "I don't need athlete, I need football players" and said fuck them stars.

12

u/NameIdeas Appalachian State Mountaineers Jan 20 '26

Just how! Did he sell his soul to a demon or something?

12

u/-SatchelGizmo- Virginia Tech Hokies • Sickos Jan 20 '26

That's my daily affirmation in the mirror. 

12

u/u-s-u-r-p Nebraska Cornhuskers • Stanford Cardinal Jan 20 '26

Purdue sucks! (applause)
AND MICHIGAN AND OHIO STATE SUCK TOO! (fear)

The Grinch knew all along.

3

u/EnderTheTrender Oklahoma Sooners Jan 20 '26

One of the things I hated most during high school was my team seeing a guy on the other team that was crazy fast or big and then immediately deciding we lost.

Cig said fuck that we can beat anyone.

10

u/Whatsdota Jan 20 '26

That’s an all time great quote

22

u/DarthVader19920 Kentucky Wildcats Jan 20 '26

Dude needs a dump truck to carry around his massive nuts

15

u/supergeeky_1 Indiana Hoosiers Jan 20 '26

He can park it next to the dump truck that is hauling all of his money. 

13

u/resuwreckoning Stanford Cardinal Jan 20 '26

Next to the dump truck that holds his celebratory beer.

19

u/thatswhytheycallitsh UCF Knights Jan 20 '26

This is the best part. It's modern day Babe Ruth calling his shot but better.

9

u/Oblivionguard19 Georgia Bulldogs • Sickos Jan 20 '26

Within two years too. Even if you believed he’d pull it off at the time, you’d probably expect 5-6 years before doing it

8

u/whattheprob1emis Ohio State Buckeyes Jan 20 '26

I’m just glad that Will Howard had his fun with Cig last year. Won’t be many opportunities for that moving forward now that Ciggi has his Death Star fully operational.

9

u/MattRecovery23 Washington Huskies Jan 20 '26

That's the absolute coldest line of all time. Just pure swagger, dude can build a program and he fuckin knows it. Just spectacular

15

u/cardmanimgur Ohio State Buckeyes Jan 20 '26

Insane. He would've gotten absolutely clowned if he flamed out with Indiana and instead it's an iconic line.

2

u/GarrisonWhite2 Penn State Nittany Lions • Temple Owls Jan 20 '26

Eh I think a lot of people would have forgotten about it because it’s Indiana.

5

u/seoul_drift Michigan Wolverines • Uppsala Snakeheads Jan 20 '26

It's almost too good a story, like the scriptwriters didn't bother to hide the plot.

6

u/better-every-day Clemson Tigers Jan 20 '26

" I always win things in my second year"

6

u/clearcloseall Jan 20 '26

Unlike Ange, I think Cignetti is gonna get to show us what season three looks like

7

u/SmokyDragonDish Indiana Hoosiers Jan 20 '26

When he said that and the thing about Purdue sucks, Michigan sucks, and Ohio State sucks.... I was like.... OK dude, you're a clown.

I guess I'm the clown.

3

u/KingSweden24 Washington Huskies Jan 20 '26

“I am HIM” was insufficiently hard so Cig went with the posted quote

3

u/greenday61892 UConn Huskies Jan 20 '26

It feels like Dan Hurley's "you better get us now because we're coming" on fucking crack cocaine

3

u/rapturexxv Jan 20 '26

Cignetti has generational aura...

2

u/Sage296 Penn State Nittany Lions Jan 20 '26

GOOGLE ME CHUCK

2

u/IntelligentSpite6364 Jan 20 '26

Engrave it in his statue

2

u/bmac92 Arkansas Razorbacks • Tulsa Golden Hurricane Jan 20 '26

Same vein as Bozak's quote when he signed with the Blues:

I want to win a Cup. So damn bad. That's why I signed in St. Louis. There's your headline. Print it.

Then they went and won their first Stanley Cup.

2

u/markrulesallnow Indiana Hoosiers Jan 20 '26

This. This is it. Build the statue.

2

u/NA_Faker Texas Longhorns • Wisconsin Badgers Jan 20 '26

We were unfamiliar with his game

2

u/ArchEast Georgia Tech • Georgia State Jan 20 '26

Hoosiers better chisel that into the pedestal of the 300-foot statue they're gonna build of that man.

2

u/nefariousBUBBLE Indiana Hoosiers Jan 20 '26

And when he was at Lucas Oil before his first year: "Well you know, I'm just scouting the facility for when we play the Big Ten Championship."

Who here laughed? I did lol.

1

u/tell-u-wut Indiana Hoosiers Jan 20 '26

I remember many of us IU alums kind of cringing at that and the basketball game speech where he said “Purdue sucks and so does OSU!” and that IU football was about to start winning a lot. Thought we’d be an even more laughable program than before if we kept the same track record, but boy was I wrong.

0

u/TiredMillennialDad Jan 20 '26

He will be in the NFL

3

u/fire_water_drowned Indiana • Notre Dame Jan 20 '26

He's already said he doesn't want that.

444

u/Epcplayer UCF Knights Jan 20 '26

Won as many bowl games this postseason as they had from 1887-2024 in just the 2025 Postseason

106

u/aggr1103 NC State Wolfpack Jan 20 '26

This is the wildest stat I’ve ever read. Indiana better lock him up forever.

27

u/Comprehensive-Car190 Jan 20 '26

Meanwhile we have to suffer with "But NC State isn't a football school."

Fuck it, we god James Goodnight or whatever the hell his name is, write a check, bro. Tell Cuban to eat a bag of dicks. Philanthropically of course.

3

u/bromjunaar Nebraska Cornhuskers • Sickos Jan 20 '26

Wilder than the Biggest Loser to undefeated champ in 2 years imo.

It's one thing to have long poor stretches, it's another to never see short periods of success mixed in there.

12

u/penguins_are_mean Minnesota • Wisconsin Jan 20 '26

That’s absolutely wild.

14

u/Janus67 Ohio State Buckeyes Jan 20 '26

That is one fucking insane statistic

12

u/RamblinWreckGT Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Jan 20 '26

They've only won 16 games in a two-season span twice in school history: 1944-45 and 1987-88. They just won that many in one.

2

u/nefariousBUBBLE Indiana Hoosiers Jan 20 '26

First time they won a bowl game since the 90s.

294

u/[deleted] Jan 20 '26

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207

u/bnbtwjdfootsyk Ohio State • Kent State Jan 20 '26

Fuck it, name the school Cignetti University.

40

u/EmperorHans Kentucky Wildcats Jan 20 '26

Fuck that, name the state after him. 

23

u/LivingOof Vermont Catamounts Jan 20 '26

Cignettapolis! CignettiCar!

12

u/justa_flesh_wound Michigan State • Ferris State Jan 20 '26

Cignettapolis Colts has a ring to it. Just like IU

11

u/carmel33 Indiana Hoosiers Jan 20 '26

The United States of Cignetti

6

u/luchajefe North Texas Mean Green • Southwest Jan 20 '26

Cignary!

5

u/Neapola Oregon Ducks Jan 20 '26

And thus, the capital would become Cignettiapolis.

12

u/WingedBacon Texas Longhorns • North Texas Mean Green Jan 20 '26

Cignetti University does sound kind of badass

5

u/DCS317 Jan 20 '26

They can rename IU Indy to Cignetti University. Vonnegut joked about how ridiculous the name IUPUI was anyway.

26

u/Shellshock1122 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Jan 20 '26 edited Jan 20 '26

35 years without a bowl win. 80 years without an outright conference title

6

u/wcm48 Baylor Bears • Auburn Tigers Jan 20 '26

Man, I was at their last bowl win. I was in high school. I’m in my 50’s!

18

u/TTBurger88 Wisconsin Badgers Jan 20 '26

They be building a statue of Cignetti and a statue of Mendoza 4th down TD run.

3

u/EnderTheTrender Oklahoma Sooners Jan 20 '26

That was a heisman moment in the biggest game

15

u/70stang Auburn Tigers • Tennessee Volunteers Jan 20 '26

This isn't "Build the statue" so much as it is "Rename Bloomington to Cignettia"

If it's just a statue it needs to be like the Colossus of Rhodes, where any person driving into town has to go underneath his 60 foot wide balls.

11

u/Mountain351 BYU Cougars • Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Jan 20 '26

Mendoza Field at Cignetti Memorial Stadium has a nice ring to it

10

u/DarthHegatron Duke Blue Devils • Georgia Bulldogs Jan 20 '26

27-2 with the only two losses to the national champion and runner up

9

u/663691 Minnesota Golden Gophers Jan 20 '26

Best comparison might be the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Worst winning percentage in nfl of any team but massive turnaround

10

u/penguinopph Illinois • Northwestern Jan 20 '26

Before Cignetti: Most losses in CFB history.

They had the most losses in CFB history until week 11 of this season!

8

u/omglawlz Florida Gators Jan 20 '26

NIL is wild af. Mark Cuban had his hand in this one lol

4

u/Lopoetve Colorado Buffaloes Jan 20 '26

Phil Knight should take notes.

8

u/youngestalma Utah State Aggies • Boise State Broncos Jan 20 '26

I can’t wait to see a Ronaldo-esque statue of Cignetti

8

u/Cogswobble UCF Knights • Oregon State Beavers Jan 20 '26

Curt Cignetti is responsible for more than 5% of Indiana's wins and less than 0.3% of their losses.

7

u/GodEmperorBrian Syracuse Orange • Boise State Broncos Jan 20 '26

Build the statue, rename the stadium, hell rename the university at this point.

5

u/Tsquared10 Oregon Ducks • Montana State Bobcats Jan 20 '26

Before Cignetti: 3 bowl wins in their entire history

Cignetti in 2025: 3 bowl wins in 19 days

4

u/fruitybrisket Youngstown State • Tennessee Jan 20 '26

Google him. He wins.

4

u/I_lie_on_reddit_alot Minnesota Golden Gophers Jan 20 '26

Statue shoulda started construction a few weeks ago tbh

4

u/Skwonkie_ Notre Dame • Indiana Jan 20 '26

What’s even more crazy to me is that the only two losses were to teams who played in the national championship. Unbelievable run, congrats to IU!

4

u/zzyul Tennessee Volunteers Jan 20 '26

Hadn’t won a bowl game in 25 years. Wins Rose Bowl, Peach Bowl, and Natty in 1 year.

3

u/tehAwesomer Indiana Hoosiers • Ohio State Buckeyes Jan 20 '26

Absolutely no sarcasm

3

u/gookies5 Jan 20 '26

With zero 5 star recruits

2

u/cyanocittaetprocyon Michigan Wolverines • /r/CFB Booster Jan 20 '26

Yeah, get the statue up now!

2

u/Mongoose151 Wisconsin Badgers Jan 20 '26

What a crazy amount of money can do to a program.

2

u/LGWalkway Oklahoma Sooners • Paper Bag Jan 20 '26

A statue of Cignetti and Mendoza doing the heisman pose side to side.

2

u/shmaltz_herring Kansas State • Fort Hays State Jan 20 '26

Name the stadium after him K-state did it with the previous greatest turnaround in college football history. Congratulations to Indiana for winning it all. Something that I wish K-state could have accomplished.

2

u/DrDrNotAnMD Oregon Ducks Jan 20 '26

They must rename the state Cigdiana.

2

u/e-spice Tennessee Volunteers Jan 20 '26

In all the years of college football there's never been a story as surprising as Cignetti and Indiana. I doubt there ever will be again.

Huge congratulations to all Indiana fans. What an amazing season.

2

u/JackpotThePimp Florida State Seminoles • UCF Knights Jan 20 '26

First 16-win season since the XIX century.

2

u/iJon_v2 /r/CFB Jan 20 '26

I want to know what their NIL expenditure was. Not just theirs, but everyone’s.

I’m not saying they spent more money than other schools…in fact I bet they spent waaaay less, so it’s all just coaching and scouting. I’m more saying I wish there was like a giant spreadsheet with every single D1 school and how much “they” spend each year in NIL money.

2

u/Bdcky Southeast Missouri Redhawks Jan 20 '26

Its wild looking at it, its not like he didnt have opportunities elsewhere for a Head coaching gig after his stint at james madison. And yet he said, lets do it on hard mode and talk some shit before going and doing it. I think everyone in america believes he can turn any program around after this profound achievement

2

u/ThiccClient Michigan Wolverines • Big Ten Jan 20 '26

The placard at the base of the statue needs to just read "Google me" nothing more nothing less.

1

u/Dapianoman UCLA Bruins • Rose Bowl Jan 20 '26

looks like northwestern is winning their natty in 2 years

1

u/rads2riches Jan 20 '26

How does that even happen at a big school. Like not one good year of the correct luck? The last coach must feel like a bum.

-3

u/elgenie Iowa Hawkeyes • Brown Bears Jan 20 '26

The only valid reason to hold off on the statue building is the Paterno risk factor.