Cignetti, IU football continue to rewrite history with road win against No. 3 Oregon
- Josh Pos
- 5h ago
At his Big Ten media day press conference in July, Curt Cignetti boasted about his first season being the best in 127 years of Indiana University football.
Even after reaching the College Football Playoff, Indiana still faced doubt about whether Cignetti was building something sustainable in Bloomington.
Across those 127 mostly putrid seasons, Indiana had never beaten a top-five team on the road — the longest such drought in college football history. Entering Saturday’s heavyweight matchup, the Hoosiers had played 46 road games against AP top-five teams. All 46 ended in losses.
With the best team in program history on the field, Cignetti and No. 7 Indiana traveled to Autzen Stadium. There, the Hoosiers defeated No. 3 Oregon, 30–20.
“I’m really proud of the team and coaches,” Cignetti said postgame. “It’s a great road win.”
The 10-point victory snapped Oregon’s nation-leading 18-game home winning streak.
Saturday’s result didn’t happen by chance — it was set in motion days before the team even arrived in Eugene.
From Cignetti’s Monday press conference, Indiana’s tone was far different than last year’s big games.
In road losses to the eventual national champion and runners-up last season, Indiana appeared happy to be playing in high-leverage games. The play-calling was conservative and the players appeared intimidated by their opponent.
Indiana approached the week with a far more positive tone ahead of Saturday’s date with the Ducks.
The focus shifted to belief — shedding self-imposed limitations and rejecting the idea of just staying close to the nation’s best.
Cignetti shared this belief with his players, confident that with the right approach, the result would be a win.
“We had the mentality that we’re always going to win,” quarterback Fernando Mendoza said. “We had a belief in our staff that we were going to come out on top.”
A first-play sack of Oregon quarterback Dante Moore made it clear; Indiana wasn’t the same team as last year.
Even after Moore exposed safety Amare Farrell for a 44-yard touchdown pass, Indiana’s offense marched down the field for a 9-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to take the lead back.
“The most important thing to me was our mindset going into this game,” Cignetti said. “We passed that test.”
Indiana played complementary football for the first of what became many times on Saturday. As the game progressed and the heavyweights traded blows, Indiana kept responding.
Indiana always had an answer for whatever Oregon threw at them, no matter the situation.
Adversity hit Mendoza early in the fourth quarter when he threw a pick-six that tied the game.
In the wake of a costly error, Mendoza regrouped and led his team down the field. The 12-play drive ended in the hands of sure-handed receiver Elijah Sarratt for what wound up being the game-winning drive.
“There was no panic,” Mendoza recalled. “We needed to overcome adversity at some point and I think we showcased that perfectly.”
In the 30 years preceding Cignetti’s arrival in December 2023, Indiana had averaged four wins per season.
Now at 17-2 over two seasons, Cignetti continues to reshape the narrative of Indiana University football.
Indiana earned its sixth victory of the season and has earned bowl eligibility for the second straight season. The six-win threshold used to be the measuring stick for an IU football coach.
The Hoosiers’ sixth win held far more weight than becoming bowl-eligible. It was a statement that Indiana is a legitimate contender for the national championship.
“It puts us in a position if we can continue to be successful,” Cignetti said. “We have to show up to work on Monday to work as a team, humble and hungry, ready to go against Michigan State.”
The win didn’t just make history — it made a statement.
Saturday afternoon’s victory did more than silence Indiana’s doubters. It reaffirmed that Indiana is indeed the emerging superpower in college football.
(Photo credit: Big Ten Football on X)
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