For Curt Cignetti’s Indiana, the ghost of last season’s perfect record, shattered by Ohio State, has loomed large. But this year, a flawless 12-0 finish has offered a chance at redemption, forcing the head coach to confront that season-ending mistake head-on.

“We followed up an 11-1 with 12-0, not a bad start,” said Cignetti during the post-game conference after a dominant 56–3 win over Purdue.

Since taking the reins in 2023, Curt Cignetti has transformed the Hoosiers in just his second year. While they are now ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll, the highest mark in program history, their impressive run, highlighted by snapping Oregon’s home winning streak, even earned them David Pollack’s backing as a No. 1 team.

“Indiana, the number one team in the country. Why is Indiana over Ohio State? Better win. The Oregon win is the most impressive win by far… To me, Indiana is the number one team in the country,” said Pollack.

Still, last season’s loss to Ohio State came with real consequences. Indiana tumbled in the CFP rankings after entering the matchup at No. 5, lost its conference title hopes, and saw Kurtis Rourke’s potential Heisman campaign effectively flatline. While Cignetti called last season “tremendous” and believed lessons from the loss will fuel the team’s growth, this year’s rise comes despite not facing OSU at all.

“The whole deal was we wanted to walk out of this game with an exclamation point, not a question mark,” said Cignetti.

Against Purdue, the Hoosiers unleashed a bruising ground attack and a lockdown defense, resulting in IU outgaining the Boilermakers 548-282 in total yards. Still, IU’s path in the Big Ten Championship comes with a bit of concern, as Ohio State sits there as a top seed. But Cignetti isn’t sweating it, especially after revealing his goal of appearing in the conference title game.

“We’re a year late,” said the IU HC on reaching the Big Ten title game.

With that, Indiana sits at No. 2 in the CFP rankings, likely behind OSU because of last year’s national title, but Cignetti’s past regret finally feels lighter. And for that, Fernando Mendoza and Co. deserve plenty of credit.

Curt Cignetti’s Squad on Achieving an Undefeated Season

Cignetti’s squad racked up 548 yards, with 355 coming on the ground, turning the night into a track meet the Boilermakers couldn’t enter. While Fernando Mendoza didn’t need to shine, the run game did all the talking. Yes, Purdue managed only 44 rushing yards as IU’s defense shut the door early, and when the dust settled, Indiana capped its best regular season ever with another 50-point beat-down of its rival.

Just like that, Mendoza and company delivered the program’s first undefeated season. And when Mendoza was asked how it felt, he immediately pointed to Pat Coogan’s motivating speech as the spark behind it.

“I think Pat Coogan, before the games, told the offense a really motivating speech, and I think it really resonates with a lot of us. He said what a great opportunity that we can go 12-0 because everyone knew that we could go 12-0. No one was blind to it,” said Mendoza. “One more game, perfect regular season. Something that nobody in Indiana history has done…. And now we are 12-0.”

Although Mendoza didn’t flash his full potential in the first half against Purdue, his season-long performance has been nothing short of spectacular. And that’s what keeps him atop the Heisman race. Now, while one bad outing can shake those odds, his teammate Roman Hemby didn’t hesitate to explain exactly how the Hoosiers stayed undefeated.

“I really just think it starts with the top. You say a guy like coach Cignetti, he knows what the winning formula is, and he instills that in everybody,” said Hemby. “So from him to the coaches around him to the players to the staff members, everybody has a mindset that we’re going to try to go 1-0 every week. And no matter what we did in the past, it doesn’t matter.

“So, when we go back in there Monday, and we have the team meeting, we’ll chalk this up. We’ll watch the film, we’ll get over it, and we’ll have the same mindset, hungry for another win. And I think that’s just what helps us to kind of go through the season.”

We’ll see what happens in the title game and then in the ultimate CFP showdown.