- - Three letters explain how Indiana football reached national championship

Blake Toppmeyer, USA TODAY January 10, 2026 at 7:42 PM

4

Three letters explain how Indiana football reached national championship

ATLANTA – To call this a rise from the ashes, something would’ve had to have been burned down first. Indiana football was never here. Not before Curt Cignetti arrived.

He’s the man with the plan. The coach with the swagger. The master blender of transfers. The developer of a Heisman Trophy winner.

In the time B.C. — before Cignetti — Indiana needed four seasons to amass 15 wins.

A.C., they’re 15-0.

If you saw Cignetti standing on the sideline, grim-faced, you might think he was observing a funeral. No, he’s just watching his Hoosiers bury another opponent.

When it was finished, this 56-22 body slam of Oregon in a College Football Playoff semifinal, Cignetti even cracked a smile. Do you believe in miracles?!

All it took was a 34-point beatdown to coax out a grin out of everyone’s favorite meme.

“You see (him smile) every now and then. It’s rare,” Indiana wide receiver Elijah Sarratt said, as he smiled next to the Peach Bowl trophy inside the locker room.

When you try to explain how the Hoosiers got here, from Big Ten doormat to national powerhouse in just two years, you’ve got to start with the coach, but you’ve also got to include the quarterback.

Fernando Mendoza fired five touchdown passes and just three incompletions.

You also cannot ignore Indiana’s sturdiness in the trenches or its bundle of skill position talent or how it does not beat itself with mistakes and blunders, like those Oregon made.

So, what’s the best way to explain how Indiana is undefeated and one win away from becoming national champions, after having 100-to-1 odds in the preseason? Maybe, it boils down to three letters that have become this program’s mission.

“Our big thing we say is, DYJ. Do your job,” defensive lineman Mario Landino said. “As long as do your job, it’s going to be OK. We’ve got that posted around the facility and at away games, everywhere.”

Indiana football does its job vs. Oregon, from very first play to last

D’Angelo Ponds did his job. On the game’s very first play from scrimmage, Indiana's star cornerback bolted in front of an Oregon receiver, picked off a pass and sprinted into the end zone for a touchdown.

“After that play, the whole sideline, we’re turnt. We know, we’re here,” defensive lineman Daniel Ndukwe said.

Eleven seconds into the game, the train horn that blasts inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium after touchdowns blared for the first of many, many times, because these Hoosiers just kept doing their job and kept racking up the touchdowns.

Eight of them, in sum.

'Outhouse to penthouse': Stop pretending Indiana is Cinderella. Hoosiers are the CFP bully

That hurts: Oregon feels pain of another CFP blowout loss in Peach Bowl

Mendoza did his job while completing 17 of 20 passes. He sizzled on third downs.

When Sarratt saw Mendoza, a transfer from California, throwing before the season, he sensed this could be a special season.

“Seeing the way Fernando was spinning it in the offseason I knew we had a chance,” said Sarratt, who did his job with seven catches for 75 yards.

If you’ve got a quarterback, you’ve got a chance. The Hoosiers have a quarterback.

As Cignetti aptly put it, Mendoza played “incredible” and Sarratt was “on fire.”

Both can say they achieved the task of DYJ.

Dan Lanning on Hoosiers: 'They're complete.'

The offensive line did its job protecting Mendoza. He was sacked only once, and those maulers opened holes for Indiana’s underrated ground attack to punish Oregon to the tune of 185 yards.

That’s doing your job.

The defensive line’s job was to make life uncomfortable for quarterback Dante Moore. They didn’t just do their job. They aced it. Mark Cuban, give those fellas a bonus check! The Hoosiers had 10 tackles for loss, including three sacks. Landino recovered two Moore fumbles. How’s that for DYJ?

One of the nation’s least-penalized teams, Indiana got flagged just five times. It blocked a punt. It mounted a 3-0 turnover advantage.

That’s how you destroy a good team.

“We’re a smart team," Landino said. "We don’t make penalties. We’re trying not to make mistakes."

They don’t beat themselves, while beating you up. They lead the nation in turnover margin. They’re physical, and they’re relentless. When they get up by a few scores, they don’t fall into that pesky trap of letting their foot off the gas. They keep the pedal down.

Take it from Oregon coach Dan Lanning: “They’re complete.”

Bingo.

Zoom out and view this through the big picture, and it’s still hard to believe Indiana, a program synonymous with failure throughout most of its existence, is headed to the national championship game.

Zoom in, and you’ll see a veteran, polished team that’s without weakness and plays with unflinching composure.

“To me, every game is the same,” Cignetti said. “You gotta win the line of scrimmage. You gotta be able to run the ball, stop the run, affect the quarterback, protect the quarterback. And, then, the turnover ratio, which was huge in this game.”

When it was finished, would they admit they accomplished the quest of DYJ?

“I think we took a step,” Landino said.

One more step, and the job will be complete.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's senior national college football columnist. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How is Indiana football in national championship? Three letters tell story

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Sports”