A year ago, Indiana was still something of a surprise. The Hoosiers had gone from a 3-9 season in 2023 to an 11-1 regular season in 2024. But there were still plenty of people waiting for the other shoe to drop. But Curt Cignetti’s team kept winning. By the end of the 2025 season, Indiana had done the unthinkable by getting a national championship to Bloomington.

However, when Cignetti was asked on August 11 on Jim Coyle’s podcast about the best thing about being a national champion, you might have expected him to enjoy the moment for a few seconds. That’s not how Cignetti does things, though.

“I don’t know. It’s over,” Cignetti said. “Just knowing you went to the top of the mountain. Makes you want to get there again.”

As far as Cignetti is concerned, the biggest achievement in Indiana history has already become yesterday’s news. That tells you how the head coach sees the program now. The elusive championship win is not the finish line. Instead, it is the standard. For outsiders, though, that feat still looks like a page taken out of a fantasy book.

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Before Cignetti came to IU, the Hoosiers were the doormat program in the Big 10. In the 2023 season, the team finished with a dismal 3-9 record. IU was the losingest program in FBS history, a distinction Cignetti inherited and immediately set out to erase with his ‘Google me’ remark in the inaugural presser. Most people took it as arrogance, but few knew that the former JMU HC had a foolproof plan.

Indiana did not sneak through the 2025 schedule. They went 16-0 and beat some of the biggest names in the sport. Ohio State, Alabama, and Oregon all fell during their postseason run. Fernando Mendoza, who transferred to Indiana from Cal, won the Heisman Trophy after leading the offense during that championship season. And now, Cignetti’s out to prove that 2025 wasn’t a fluke.

The Hoosiers have a tougher schedule this time, with games against Ohio State, Michigan, USC, and Washington. Ohio State is especially important because the Buckeyes are ranked ahead of Indiana in the preseason coaches poll. There will also be a different kind of pressure inside the locker room.

Last season, Indiana could play with the freedom of a team that had little to lose. That luxury is gone. Every opponent now knows what the Hoosiers can do. Every close game will bring questions. Every loss will be treated as evidence that the championship season was an outlier. However, this time again, he has a plan.

Cignetti has brought in Josh Hoover from TCU to lead the offense. He comes after passing for more than 9,000 yards at his former program. Of course, he isn’t a prolific rusher like Mendoza. But Cignetti has tweaked his offense to fit him. Never mind, Hoover is eager to unlock his rushing ability with IU’s elite O-line to help him. It’s all a definite recipe for sustained success.