Indiana’s Curt Cignetti just wanted a beer after beating Oregon
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Curt Cignetti wasn’t going to take Friday night’s College Football Playoff semifinal victory for granted.
For the first time in school history, the Indiana Hoosiers will play for the national championship after defeating Oregon 56-22 in the Peach Bowl.
Finally, the Hoosiers will sit down and watch film on No. 10 Miami, which is entering a Cinderella race to take on the 15-0 Hoosiers.
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Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti hoists the George P. Crumbley Trophy after defeating the Oregon Ducks in the 2025 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 9, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
But as the Hoosiers celebrated at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Cignetti had something on his mind.
ESPN’s Molly McGrath asked Cignetti “when he’s going to stop and appreciate how special and how historic this all is,” assuming Cignetti was already “thinking about the next play.”
But Cignetti corrected him.
“I’m not thinking about the next game. I’m thinking about cracking open a beer,” he admitted.
The Hoosiers became the fifth team in modern college football history to reach 15-0. They could now become the first team of the modern era to go 16-0 and only the second all-time, joining the 1894 Yale team that played in leather helmets.
Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti looks on ahead of the 2025 Big Ten Championship Game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 6, 2025. (Robert Goddin/Imagn Images)
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Cignetti left the college football world breathless with a dramatic transformation of the Hoosiers program from one of the Big Ten’s losingest teams to potentially the most dominant single season of all time.
The Hoosiers have only gained momentum in the CFP after their undefeated regular season. After beating Ohio State for the Big Ten title, Indiana defeated Alabama 38-3 in the Rose Bowl quarterfinals as Fernando Mendoza threw for 192 yards and three touchdowns.
Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti walks to the sideline after a timeout in the fourth quarter of a football game against the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Columbus. (Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / Imagn Images via USA TODAY NETWORK)
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Indiana will try to bring the Big Ten its third straight national title, following Ohio State and Michigan in the last two seasons. Few teams from any conference can compare to the balanced and strong play the Hoosiers have displayed throughout the season.
Jackson Thompson of Fox News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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