The Indiana Hoosiers capped off a perfect season with a thrilling national championship victory over the Miami Hurricanes on Monday night. It was Indiana’s first-ever national title, and only their sixth Ibowl victory ever, three of which came this season.
It’s hard to fathom the Hoosiers at the pinnacle of the sport, considering only the Northwestern Wildcats have lost more games over the history of college football. History be damned, Indiana and head coach Curt Cignetti, in just his second year on the job, are undeniable.
“Are there eight first-round draft choices on this team? Probably not, no, there aren’t,” Cignetti said after the win, according to ESPN. “But this team, the whole was greater than the sum of its parts.”
The Heisman Trophy winner stamped his name in the annals of history with a gritty 12-yard touchdown run on a fourth-quarter 4th-and-5 in the red zone, breaking tackles and sacrificing his body as he stretched over the goal line.
“At that point I took the drop,” said Mendoza of the gritty play. “It wasn’t the perfect coverage for it, but I trust my linemen, and everybody in that entire offense, that entire team had a gritty performance today. And we were all putting our bodies on the line, so it was the least I could do for my brothers.”
Cignetti acknowledged how special a moment in sports history the turnaround was, but made sure that some of the unsung heroes got their praise as well.
“It probably is one of the greatest sports stories of all time,” he said, “but it’s all because of these guys and the staff.”
He also made sure to let the college football world know that he doesn’t foresee a falloff.
“I know Indiana’s football history has been pretty poor with some good years sprinkled in there. It was because it wasn’t an emphasis on football, plain and simple. Basketball school. Coach [Bob] Knight had great teams. The emphasis is on football. It’s on basketball, too. But you’ve got to be good in football nowadays. We’ve got a president that comes from the South that loves football. We’ve got an AD that is a tremendous fundraiser, people person. We’ve got a fan base, the largest alumni base in the country, Indiana University. They’re all-in.
“We’ve got a lot of momentum.”
There just might be a dynasty brewing in Bloomington.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.