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Curt Cignetti: ‘I’ll be stalking complacency’ among staff, players in 2026
By David Wasson
Published:
The Indiana Hoosiers have been on a truly historic run over the past two seasons under coach Curt Cignetti – winning 27 of 29 games, the Big Ten title and the program’s first national championship.
No longer the hunters, Cignetti’s Hoosiers are the hunted. Appearing at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago on Thursday, Cignetti said he will actively be looking for any kind of letdown within his program as 2026 looms.
“I’ll be stalking complacency,” Cignetti declared during his opening statement at the podium.
Before Cignetti’s debut in 2024, complacency was the defining feature of Indiana football. The Hoosiers had the losingest program in Division-I history, hadn’t won an outright Big Ten title since 1945 and basically looked upon football as an expensive afterthought compared to the storied Indiana basketball program.
Cignetti changed all that from the start, going 11-2 in 2024 before falling in the first round of the College Football Playoff. And that was just a prelude to 2025 – as the Hoosiers embarked on a magical 16-0 season that culminated with a 27-21 victory over Miami in the CFP title game.
Cignetti’s third season in Bloomington begins Sept. 5 at home against North Texas (Noon ET, Fox). The Hoosiers begin Big Ten play Sept. 25 at home against Northwestern (8 pm ET, Fox).
An APSE national award-winning writer and page designer, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.