None\u00a0of\u00a0that compares to\u00a0what\u2019s\u00a0happening with Curt\u00a0Cignetti, Fernando\u00a0Mendoza\u00a0and the most improbable\u00a0brand overhaul in the annals of the sport.<\/p>\n
Granted, overreactions\u00a0have become overkill. There are too many attempts at\u00a0microwaved history and instant\u00a0debates over\u00a0newly crowned champions and their\u00a0place in\u00a0the pantheon of legends.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But if Indiana wins\u00a0a national championship, it will be the greatest story ever told\u00a0in college football.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m from Indiana,\u201d Grand Canyon basketball coach Bryce Drew said. \u201cAnd a new generation of fans are going to know Indiana as a football school and not a basketball school. That is just wild to me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
At age 64,\u00a0Cignetti\u00a0has\u00a0risen\u00a0from obscurity to\u00a0the\u00a0throne. He is the\u00a0new big boss of college football.\u00a0He is backing up\u00a0an\u00a0audacious\u00a0proclamation\u00a0made\u00a0at his debut press conference \u2013 \u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0pretty simple. I\u00a0win. Google me.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cignetti\u2019s team is spectacularly well-coached. The Hoosiers\u00a0haven\u2019t\u00a0lost a fumble since the 18th play of the season. Their receivers never drop passes. Their annihilation of elite competition is jaw-dropping, while their immaculate execution has created a brand of football that is both art and carnage. Normally, we complain about blowouts and lopsided losses in the CFP. With Indiana<\/a>, it\u2019s part of the fun and part of the mythology and crucial to the narrative.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Mendoza has developed into a\u00a0killer with\u00a0great manners, a kid who smiles wide and\u00a0quotes Stoic philosophy during press conferences, so grateful for Cignetti that\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0leaving his Heisman Trophy on display at Indiana. You\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0write these kinds of stories.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a way, Cignetti has trumped and overshadowed the rise of Arizona State\u2019s Kenny Dillingham, whose 2024 Sun Devils defied the odds, and their Big 12 championship ranked among the top-six upsets in sports betting history. Let\u2019s hope Cignetti and Dillingham become the new stars of the sport, the new version of Nick Saban and Kirby Smart.\u00a0<\/p>\n But Cignetti has also proven that\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0a new era in college football.\u00a0If you have the right head coach and enough money to spend, you can\u00a0compete for a championship.\u00a0It\u2019s comforting to know that ASU is already on the doorstep, having successfully retained Dillingham for the near future.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n For all the madness\u00a0in\u00a0college athletics,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0refreshing to see Indiana football prove\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0everybody\u2019s game now, and that anything is possible. Because that might be us someday soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n Reach Bickley at dbickley@arizonasports.com. Listen to Bickley & Marotta weekdays from 6 a.m. \u2013 10 a.m. on Arizona Sports 98.7.<\/p>\n
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