Video Is Indiana now a perennial National Championship contender? 👀 Big Noon Kickoff The Big Noon Kickoff crew discuss whether Indiana is now a perennial National Championship contender.
The natives are starting to get restless in Bloomington, Indiana.
You read that right, folks. Fans of the Indiana Hoosiers, a program that came from literally nothing to reach the pantheon of college football, are a little miffed with how the team has performed early in the season.
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The defending national champions have gotten off to a 3-0 start, but the first quarter of their season has been marred by sleepy first half performances against "lesser competition," to put it mildly.
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Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver Charlie Becker catches a pass for a touchdown against the North Texas Mean Green on Sept. 5, 2026, at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind. (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Wins against North Texas, Howard, and Western Kentucky probably don't move the needle all that much, but the clumsy starts have the Hoosier faithful getting a little antsy as their team heads into Big Ten conference play.
Head coach Curt Cignetti has taken note of this, and decided to issue a personal statement on the matter during his weekly radio hit on Thursday.
"It was hot, and I was hot on the sideline," Cignetti admits when discussing the fans not staying in their seats for the entirety of Indiana's 38-0 win over the Hilltoppers on Saturday.
"What are we, 29-2? When we came, I saw the picture, 10,000 fans in the stands," he fired back. "Don't b---- about a 38-0 win."
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His response elicited plenty of laughs from those in attendance, but Cignetti, as is usually the case, was being dead serious.
Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti walks onto the field before a college football game between the Michigan State Spartans and Indiana Hoosiers on Oct. 18, 2025, at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind. (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
It's one thing for Alabama fans in year eight or nine of the Nick Saban dynasty to have gotten a little pissy about winning by 38 instead of 58, but this is Indiana we are talking about here.
Three years ago, this fanbase would have thrown a parade for going 8-4 and getting an invite to the Gator Bowl.
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Now we're going to get our red and white striped overalls in a bunch over a 14-0 halftime lead against Western Kentucky?
I get it, that's not where you want to be, and if you play like that against Ohio State or Oregon you are going to get exposed, but have a little faith in The Cig, will you?
I've written exhaustively about how Cignetti is basically the closest thing we have in the game right now to prime Saban, and I mean it.
Head coach Curt Cignetti of the Indiana Hoosiers hoists the George P. Crumbley Trophy after defeating the Oregon Ducks in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Jan. 9, 2026, in Atlanta, Ga. (Getty Images)
What he has done and is continuing to do at Indiana is unprecedented.
The Hoosiers are bored and they're playing with their food right now.
That's not something you want to see long term, but if anyone can coach that out of them, it's the man who barely cracked a smile after beating the tar out of everyone in his path en route to a national championship just nine months earlier.
President Donald Trump jokes with Head Coach Curt Cignetti during an event celebrating the 2026 Football National Champion Indiana Hoosiers on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on May 11, 2026. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
He's already the greatest coach to ever roam the sidelines of Memorial Stadium by a wide margin, and he's not going to be around forever, so just enjoy the time you have with the guy.
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Take it from someone who didn't cherish a legend while he was coaching his team. Someday Cig will retire, and then you will be dreaming of 38-0 wins.
