It has been interesting over the past week with several inquires from people asking how excited I was the Indiana Hoosiers won the College Football Championship recently in the title game in Miami.
Of course, those inquiring know I am a proud native Hoosier, so it would seem natural to think I was on the edge of my seat as the Hoosiers made their incredible 16-0 run to the national title.
Obviously, it was fascinating for me to see how this all unfolded. But to be clear, I have never been a huge college football fan; I keep my eye on it every year and I must say in the last couple of years, the game has gotten much better.
I did watch the Hoosiers win their bowl games, including just down the road a piece when they dismantled Alabama in the Rose Bowl. They then destroyed Oregon in the semifinal game to earn the berth in the title game.
That game was against the University of Miami on its home field at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Many, including myself, thought the Hoosiers might just blow them out, too, but it was anything but as the game came down to the last few seconds and defense, as it always does, was the difference.
The campus of Indiana University is located in Bloomington, a true university town that has a vibe of its own. My daughter, Lara, graduated from IU and now her son (my grandson), Samuel, has every intention of going there this fall.
So there is certainly some Hoosier roots in the family. Our former sports editor, Allen Layman, was an IU graduate, as well. He actually attended Hoosier football games. Back then, getting a ticket was pretty easy as IU football was a doormat of college football for … ever.
The only time big crowds came was when the big name teams were in town, like Ohio State or Michigan. Otherwise, IU has been a laughingstock of the college football world for decade upon decade. In fact, it had the largest losing record of program in the history of college football.
Then came this guy named Curt Cignetti, a relatively unknown coach who actually has a rich history with major programs as an assistant. He came to IU from the powerhouse (kidding) of James Madison, where he turned that program around.
Cignetti told everyone to just sit back and watch. He was going to turn around the doormat of college programs — and quickly. The naysayers had a field day.
Until last year (his first), when he guided the team into the tournament before losing big to Notre Dame.
The naysayers said “told you so,” and he said, “just wait.”
Well it only took one year for IU football to really begin to get the attention of the sports world. They were that good.
Along the way this year, they had some close calls. The game in Iowa was really close, as was the game in Happy Valley against Penn State.
But in both of those games, they showed grit and came back in the final seconds to win. The same was true when they traveled to Eugene to play Oregon. Everyone thought this would be the place the streak would end. They won by 10 points.
And then, when they had to play the Ducks again in the Peach Bowl during the semifinals, the same naysayers said this would be it because it’s hard to beat a team twice in a year.
Final: Indiana 56, Oregon 22.
That set up the showdown in the Sunshine State in a game Indiana led the entire way but one in which the Hurricanes kept it close and the fans on the edge of their seats.
The six-point victory cemented a 16-0 season and a national championship for Cignetti, who once said “Google me” when asked about his record.
Google him now and unbeaten national champion pops to the top.
One of the interesting aspects of this incredible run has been just how many fans have found their way to these games. To be fair, IU has the largest alumni base in America. There are a lot of Hoosier graduates all across the country and world.
They dominated the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, did the same in Atlanta and even outnumbered the Miami fans — in Miami.
I have a theory why this is the case.
Sports fans, and many others, know the legacy of IU basketball and Coach Bob Knight. For better or worse, Knight is one of the legendary coaches in the history of college basketball.
This, coupled with basketball in general in Indiana, made for a fan following of unusual proportions. Cutting my teeth as a sportswriter in Indiana, I knew a long time ago just how loyal those IU basketball fans were and they would go to any length to follow their Hoosiers.
(How ironic the last unbeaten college basketball team was the 1975-76 Hoosiers who went 32-0 and beat Michigan in the title game.)
That mentality, in my estimation, has been embedded over the years and spilled into the spotlight with this incredible football team from IU that has turned the school into a football university along with the basketball lore.
IU fans are passionate, but it was once mainly for basketball. Sure, there are lifelong IU football fans who have suffered for decade upon decade, watching the hapless Hoosiers get blown out year after year by programs with players who were simply superior.
Certainly, the massive changes in the college game have made a huge difference. The “transfer portal” has made the college game similar to the pro game where players can jump ship and join other great players.
For Cignetti, he absolutely used the portal to bring in top-quality players. But if you look closely, other schools brought in what the experts said were better players. But we know about experts.
Cignetti brought in lesser known players from smaller programs, just like himself.
Even doing all of that, it still takes a leader who can bring together a wide variety of players and coaches and get them to buy into a system. He did that quicker than any program in the history of the game.
Many believe this may be the greatest college football story of all time and they could be right.
For me, I certainly enjoyed watching the Hoosiers have success. How could I not?
But I think what was even better than that was the fact this could signal the beginning of the end for the “traditional” college football powerhouses. It was great to not see teams like Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Georgia and many others in the title game.
That, to me, was the most meaningful aspect that came out of this crazy college football season. Maybe all you rabid SEC fans have been humbled a bit by what has transpired. I hope so.
Not to mention it has brought the term “Hoosiers” back into the spotlight. Nobody still totally understands the origin of the term. Theories abound.
Some think “Hoosier daddy?” was a question asked of children who were born during the Civil War when the Mason Dixon line was also the Kentucky-Indiana border. With families so close pointing guns at each other, the theory was lonely and sometimes widowed women in Indiana were welcoming the enemy and babies were the product.
Who knows and that’s a subject for another time and place.
In the meantime, Hoosiers are now national champions and that can only be a good thing.
Greg Little is editor of the Mariposa Gazette and can be reached at greg@mariposagazette.com
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