Indiana Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti is starting anew this season with a familiar playbook.
His new starting quarterback has experience and an all-conference resume. He’s plugged other holes thanks to the transfer portal. He might even challenge Google to update his bio: Cignetti still wins.
While it took 11 wins and a historical first season in Bloomington, Indiana, to prove himself to a national audience, the Associated Press Coach of the Year isn’t talking about an encore or his team’s No. 20 preseason ranking. He’d rather rewrite Indiana’s record books again.
“That’s the main reason I came here,” new quarterback Fernando Mendoza said in the spring. “He’s an offensive mind, he holds everyone to a high standard, his program always wins and those are two things I want — to be held to a high standard and win.”
For Cignetti, this is standard operating procedure.
He helped two transfers each earn conference player of the year honors in his last two seasons at James Madison then used another, Kurtis Rourke, to deliver the most successful season in Indiana history. Rourke, a second-team All-Big Ten pick, was drafted in April.
Mendoza might be the best of the bunch, though.
Last season at Cal, he completed 68.7% of his throws and had the ninth 3,000-yard season in school history while his TD total increased from 14 to 16 and his interceptions dropped from 10 to six, putting him squarely in the mix to be a first-round pick. His younger brother, Alberto, is a backup quarterback.
Now the Hoosiers need Cignetti and Mendoza to show they can continue to win as they chase a Big Ten title and a playoff spot for the second straight year.
“This year’s team has a lot of nice pieces, I would use that term pieces,” Cignetti said in July. “Now we’ve got to mold this group into a team. I like a lot of the parts. We’ve got to get them all thinking alike, all buying into the team vision.”
Standing pat
In an era where player movement is the norm, Indiana is the only Big Ten team with three first-team All-Big Ten players back — linebacker Aiden Fisher, defensive end Mikail Kamara and receiver Elijah Sarratt. All three followed Cignetti from James Madison.
“Once I got over the hump of realizing I can play here, I can ball here, it was just a mental game,” said Kamara, whose 10 sacks ranked fourth in the league. “Once we played Maryland, Nebraska, I was like, ‘All right, I can do this.’”
Line ’em up
Indiana’s offensive line is experienced, too. Starters Carter Smith and Drew Smith, who missed the final four games of 2024 with a torn Achilles tendon, are back at left tackle and left guard. Former starter Kahlil Benson also returns after spending last year at Colorado.
Cignetti even found a replacement for graduated center Mike Katic — Pat Coogan, a 13-game starter on Notre Dame’s CFP runner-up team.
“I can’t say I imagined my career going this way,” Coogan said. “But I’m glad it did because I’m super glad to be here.”
The schedule
Cignetti canceled a future home-and-home series with Virginia. Why? He wants to follow the SEC’s scheduling model by playing more non-power conference teams.
Scheduling critics won’t like Indiana’s early schedule — Aug. 30 against Old Dominion followed by Kennesaw State and Indiana State on Sept. 12. Avoiding No. 3 Ohio State and No. 14 Michigan also makes the Big Ten looks manageable. Indiana visits Iowa in September, No. 7 Oregon in October and No. 2 Penn State in November.
Big Ten football: What to know
- Will QB Luke Altmyer rise to the occasion — and who will step up at WR? 5 questions for No. 12 Illinois.
- Mark Gronowski eager for contact and ‘pressure’ as Iowa hopes for improved QB play
- New era for Maryland — but can freshman Malik Washington be the answer at quarterback?
- All eyes will be on top-rated recruit Bryce Underwood at QB for No. 14 Michigan
- ‘Different environment’ for Michigan State with returning QB Aidan Chiles and trio of WRs
- Minnesota’s trend-bucking embrace of the pass will be tested with new QB Drake Lindsey
- Nebraska set to take off if Matt Rhule’s 3rd season goes according to previous plans
- Will a reset spark a turnaround — and which transfers will make an impact? 5 questions for Northwestern.
- No. 3 Ohio State seeks to ‘leave own legacy’ instead of being the defending champs
- What will No. 7 Oregon do to build on its stellar conference debut? ‘Double down.’
- No. 2 Penn State’s stars are chasing an elusive national title after delaying NFL dreams
- Can new coach Barry Odom make Purdue‘s big investment pay off with dramatic turnaround?
- Rutgers hopes transfer portal brings depth to offensive line and bolsters decimated defense
- QB Nico Iamaleava leads new-look UCLA, who added 55 players and 8 assistants
- USC is still trying to get itself together heading into Lincoln Riley’s 4th season
- Strong play from QB Demond Williams Jr. could help Washington take a step forward
- Can Wisconsin bounce back after losing season? A demanding schedule could make it tough.
