After Curt Cignetti’s Honest ‘Big Boys’ Admission, Greg McElroy Doesn’t Hold Back on Indiana’s Fate

Who would’ve thought? The Hoosiers really went 11-2 last year. A team that used to get smacked around in the Big 10 flipped the whole script like an M. Night Shyamalan film. And the man behind it? Curt Cignetti. First year in Bloomington and he’s already yelling, “Google me, I win,” like a verified villain. And now, ESPN’s Greg McElroy just dropped a bold 2025 forecast that might have Hoosier fans firing up playoff dreams again, despite losing a good number of key pieces.

Greg McElroy didn’t mince words on the May 19 episode of Always College Football. The former Alabama QB-turned-analyst laid out a path where Indiana runs it back. “Curt Cignetti and Indiana are trying to run it back, what was a great first year there in Bloomington—11 wins in year one. It’s almost unthinkable to think about what the turnaround looked like last year.” Curt Cignetti didn’t just win. He flipped the whole program’s DNA. From doormat to doghouse. From 3 wins to 11 wins. And from punchline to playoff. From boring Saturdays to prime time.

Indiana spent decades being a basketball school with a football team tagging along. Cignetti made them dangerous overnight. He earned Big Ten Coach of the Year, stacked up national awards like Infinity Stones, and secured the school’s first double-digit win season since 1967. IU finished No. 10 in the AP poll. Yes, that isn’t a typo.

McElroy gives bold prediction: “They should be 3-0 in the non-conference—Old Dominion, Kennesaw State, and Indiana State. Should be 3-0 there. Alright, you look at their other wins—I think they can get Michigan State at home, UCLA at home, and Purdue on the road. So now you’re at six wins automatically before we get into the toss-ups and the L’s… So it would not surprise me whatsoever if we fast forward to the end of the season and Indiana’s sitting there 9–3, 10–2. 8–4 at the very worst. They stay healthy, I think this could be a 10–2 football team yet again.”

Indiana’s sitting pretty with six almost-guaranteed dubs: Old Dominion, Kennesaw, and Indiana State. All easy money. Michigan State at home, UCLA at home, and Purdue on the road are all winnable, no cap. That’s before we even touch the coin flips and chalk up the L’s—’cause let’s be real, they really going to have a hard time taking down Oregon in Autzen or Penn State in Happy Valley. But here’s where it gets spicy: to smash that 8.5-win mark, they must snag three of these four toss-ups. Illinois and Wisconsin both come to Bloomington, and with the juice this team’s bringing back, they can absolutely get those. Then it’s about taking care of business on the road—either at Iowa on Sept. 27 or Maryland on Nov. 1. Real talk, they could steal both if the vibes are right.

And now, he’s got more toys to play with. Fernando Mendoza might be the best QB Cignetti’s coached. And that’s saying something, because Cignetti turned random transfer QBs into straight killers at James Madison. Ben DiNucci, Cole Johnson, Todd Centeio, Jordan McCloud—he built a quarterback factory. Rourke showed out last year with a top-3 QBR nationally. Mendoza has started 19 games, threw for 3,000 yards at Cal, and now he’s stepping into a system where quarterbacks eat.

Ceiling: 9-3 or maybe 10-2 again. Worst case, McElroy said, 8-4. That’s a wild floor for a program that was allergic to bowl games not too long ago.

But hold up—Cignetti isn’t just trying to get by. He wants everything. He made Indiana more than just a basketball school in one damn season. And with Fernando Mendoza (Cal transfer) under center, Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black running wild in the backfield, and wideouts like Tye Moore and Omar Cooper Jr. stretching defenses, this offense still has juice. Sprinkle in portal dogs on defense like Stephen Daley and Louis Moore, and this isn’t some fluky story—they’re built for real smoke.

Curt “Google Me” Cignetti wants all the smoke for year 2

Let’s get one thing straight—Curt Cignetti is him. You don’t yell “Google me” and drop 11 wins in Bloomington unless you’re really like that. And this man been like that. While sipping cocktails in the Dominican Republic with his wife, some random guy walks up and quotes Indiana’s team mantra to him: “Fast. Physical. Relentless. Smart. Discipline. Poised.” That’s how deep Cignetti’s impact hit in just 12 months.

The man didn’t even get time to exhale. By November, Indiana had already backed up the Brink’s truck, locking Cignetti in with an eight-year, $72 million deal and a staff salary pool touching $11 million, top 5 in the nation. That’s SEC-level cash for a team that just two years ago couldn’t buy wins. Athletic director Scott Dolson summed it up: “We are paranoid. We don’t want to be a one-hit wonder.”

Cignetti’s not living in the past either. Yeah, they made the College Football Playoff. But when they pulled up to South Bend? Notre Dame handled them 27-17. That game stuck with Cignetti like stale gum on a cleat. “When we played the big boys, it didn’t happen… There’s a real disappointment about the way we finished.” That loss left a bitter taste, and that’s the type of fuel that lights fires in Year 2.

Look, Mendoza isn’t perfect, though. He got smacked around at Cal. Indiana’s biggest issue in 2024? That O-line folded like lawn chairs against top-tier pass rushes. Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan—13% sack rate, 30% blown blocks. That won’t cut it. But Indiana upgraded the trenches too. And Cignetti knows it: “When we played the real good people, we looked a little different.” He knows what time it is.

Bryant Haines’ defense, the silent assassin of 2024, is back and still loaded. IU finished No. 2 nationally in total defense. That’s not a fluke. And they got first-team all-Big Ten guys like Mikail Kamara, D’Angelo Ponds, and Aiden Fisher on all three levels. This isn’t just vibes—they’re nasty on both ends. The scariest part? They’re hungry. Cignetti said it best: “Last year’s over. You gotta start over again from ground zero.” And if they start stacking again? If Mendoza plays like Rourke or better? If that O-line levels up? There’s no reason Cignetti can’t crash the playoff party again.

They got the portal. They got the paychecks. And they definitely got the schedule.

So yeah, Greg McElroy might be onto something. Indiana football. Not just a one-hit wonder. Not just a basketball school.

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