LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- They showed up like a shortcut. Like they had a time machine with the tackling sleds. A new staff, some new transfers, and a new level of belief. Indiana football flipped the switch — and the standings — seemingly overnight.
But what looks like an instant success at Indiana has actually been more than a decade in the making. And for Curt Cignetti, the head coach now guiding the No. 2 ranked Hoosiers into their first Big Ten Championship game, it's not even the culmination. It's just another step in the process.
"People and a plan," he said Sunday when asked about the foundation of the turnaround. "I was able to bring most of my staff with me from James Madison. We've been together a long time."
A long time.
Louisville | Kentucky | Indiana | Eric Crawford
Eleven years with defensive coordinator Bryant Haines. Ten with offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan. Seven with special teams coach Grant Cain. Six with running backs coach John Miller. Some have been with him since they were part-time coaches at Division II IUP, making less than $10,000 a year.
"This has been quite a ride," Cignetti said. "It's just a bigger stage now."
And it is. Indiana, 12-0, is the No. 2 team in the country. It will face No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday night in Indianapolis for the Big Ten crown, and likely the top seed in the College Football Playoff. That part is new. That part is wild.
But the way Indiana is doing it? The process and plan? That's not new at all.
A decade of doing it the same way
Cignetti and his crew have been stacking winning seasons for years. From Elon to James Madison and now Indiana, the formula hasn't changed.
It's balance on offense. Relentless effort on defense. Recruiting with precision, developing with purpose, and retaining with vision. It's explosive plays on Monday, second down Tuesday, third down Wednesday and red zone and two-minute Thursday. And above all, it's high standards every day, every play.
"How you do something is how you do everything," Cignetti said.
That line is a cliché in coaching circles. But at Indiana, it has also become a culture.
The Hoosiers are 12-0 not because they have the most five-star talent. Not because they have the flashiest scheme. But because they have an operation that's been humming in lockstep for years, just waiting for the right stage.
"It's pretty organized, pretty structured," Cignetti said. "I don't require guys to stay late at night. They're on their own. Get done what you've got to get done. And you know, a lot of them will stay and prepare for what's coming up the next day. And that's the way we do it."
They've always believed in it, because it has worked. Now everyone else is starting to see it.
The rise of Indiana, and national recognition
The Illinois win opened some eyes — a 63-10 blowout of a Top 10 team. The Oregon win sealed the deal, a road win over a playoff-caliber program that proved this team was more than a feel-good story.
Indiana isn't catching breaks. It's earning them. And for Cignetti and his staff, there's no real mystery to it.
They've run this blueprint before. They've just never had this kind of hardware at stake.
"You're always trying to improve, and believe me, we have, organizationally," Cignetti said. "But we go about things pretty much the same way we did 10 years ago."
That's the story behind the story.
From $10K paychecks to a Big Ten title game
If you want the real arc of this Indiana season, it doesn't start with a quarterback decision or a ranked win. It starts with the long haul. It starts with the coaches in the film room. The coordinators who didn't chase better titles. The staff that believed in the system — and in each other — long before Indiana believed in them.
It starts with the guys who didn't blink when their quarterback needed work, or when the punt team gave up 14 points in a loss to Ohio State last season. They've been through setbacks. They've made mistakes. They've learned and adapted and stayed together.
Now they've brought Indiana to a place it's never been.
It didn't happen overnight.
It just looks that way.
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