Curt Cignetti throws out the continuation statement before the Purdue game

2. The Indiana Hoosiers, undefeated at 11-0, are set to take on Purdue on Friday night for the 100th game of the Old Oaken Bucket. And on the other side await the Purdue Boilermakers (2-9), without a win in Big Ten play and a nine-game losing streak.

Head coach Curt Cignetti, who took over the reins at the end of 2023 after coaching at James Madison, he talked about how the belief within the program began long before anyone on the outside noticed.

Coach told significant moments from his team’s journey. These moments include a great home run against top-10 Illinois, surviving a rumble at Iowa Stadium, knocking off Oregon while the critics still linger.

“I think every head coach has some questions about his team. And I made a note right before we started camp, I just had a feeling this could be special. Things came together like that, and we had some big wins on the road. The first real big game was Illinois. They were ninth in the country. And we had a very decisive win here at home,” Cignetti told NBC.

“Then you go to Iowa, which is a really tough place to play, and you pull it off at the end of the game. And then Oregon was two or three in the country at the time. And I think that was a big step for us because there were still a lot of doubters nationally. It was a good win.”

Indiana’s rise in 2024 was explosive, but fumbled in the first round against Notre Dame in last year’s playoffs revealed a team still learning to survive the big moments. Even with this year’s dominant performance, the Hoosiers have several steps to take before they can claim elite status.

But for this matchup, the math is simple for the Hoosiers – a win, and history is assured. A win would clinch the school’s first perfect regular season, its first ticket to the Big Ten Championship, and almost certainly cementing another run in the College Football Playoff.

Cignetti followed that up by addressing the never-ending cycle of skepticism teams like Indiana must face when they’re on the rise.

“Today is a new day. We’ve got to make the most of the week off and go to Purdue ready. If there’s doubt and we see those things, it just fuels the motivation, so to speak.” he added.

The Hoosiers are now chasing not only a perfect season, but a postseason that changes the definition of perfection itself. Another week, another chance to put together a louder resume.