By Tim Clark / / College Sports, Column, Tim's Two Cents
Two

I remember when USC played Northwestern in the 1996 Rose Bowl. It was stunning because Northwestern was supposed to be a doormat program. They had not been to the Rose Bowl since 1949. Since, Northwestern has mustered up a handful of good seasons, but nothing earth shattering.

Vanderbilt almost never had a winning record when I was growing up. Before James Franklin took over in 2011, the Commodores had only been to four bowl games. This year they were one of the first three teams to just miss the playoffs. Still, Vanderbilt has never gone to a major bowl game or a playoff.

Texas Tech has a cool mascot, but usually an average football team. They only had four double digit win seasons in their 93 year history before this season. For the first time the Red Raiders won 12 games and made the playoffs. An astonishing accomplishment for a former SWC bottom feeder.

Teams of this nature actually have a chance in the current climate of college football. If you are willing to spend then your school can compete. That is certainly the reason Texas Tech put together a playoff roster. Yet, when push came to shove against a top tier team in Oregon, the Red Raiders got pushed and then shoved back to Lubbock.

So, how do you explain Indiana?

The most moribund program in all of college football. The best stretch the school ever had nearly got former coach Bill Mallory a statue built. His overall record shows 68 victories and 78 defeats. That, my friends, was the pinnacle of Indiana Hoosiers football.

Enter Curt Cignetti.

 

Yes indeed.

I hated Cignetti at first. Who walks into the Indiana gymnasium and starts ridiculing the other Big Ten teams? Who answers the above question like that? At best I thought the man was in over his skis. At worst I thought he was a stark raving lunatic.

Maybe I should have googled him.

Sure Indiana is investing more on football, but this unbelievable turnaround from worst —literally— to possibly first is all Cignetti.

I mean, there is certainly talent on this team. The quarterback won the Heisman Trophy for goodness sake. But, there isn’t elite talent on the roster. Check this out.

 


Oregon. The team Indiana beat twice this season, this past week by 34 points. Oh, and the team Cignetti will try to dismantle next Monday night —Miami— has possibly the most talented roster in the country.

Cignetti is detail oriented and stresses team. He has built a cohesive team. Yes, they are an older bunch. The Hoosiers have 45 players with at least four years of experience in college football. Still, most coaches and analysts would probably take talent over experience. And make no mistake about it, they win because they do everything the correct way not because they’re old.

Think about the game versus Oregon last Friday night. Indiana’s defense was solid, if not dominant. They allowed one real touchdown and a couple garbage scores when things were already out of reach. On offense, Fernando Mendoza was like a surgeon operating on the usually stout Oregon defense. Everyone contributes on offense which makes it very unpredictable. Then, for good measure, the Hoosiers special teams blocked a punt.

Again, they do everything right.

I hear other fanbases comparing themselves negatively to Indiana. Penn State fans were posting stats pointing out how Cignetti already has more big wins than James Franklin did in his entire tenure at Penn State. USC fans are in misery thinking about Lincoln Riley starting his fifth season as Trojans head coach while Cignetti turned Indiana around in a single season.

This kind of thinking is a fool’s errand. What Cignetti is doing is not normal. It isn’t close to normal.

What Cignetti is doing has never been done before. Even Nick Saban needed two years to ignite Tuscaloosa. To top it off, this is Indiana we are talking about. The worst football program in the history of the sport.

Nobody in their right mind could have expected this kind of success for Cignetti at Indiana. He has managed to make Hoosiers fans forget how bad the basketball program has become. In two years he has made other teams stop saying, “When do we get our easy game against Indiana?” Now they quake in their boots when they see the Hoosiers on the schedule.

Can they win one more game, this one against an ultra talented roster playing in their home stadium?

I wouldn’t bet against Cignetti.

You are witnessing the greatest, most stunning, turnaround in sports history. Only time will tell if Cignetti can maintain this type of success at Indiana.

For now, one more win will satisfy Cignetti. For an hour or two.

Tweet of the Week

Mike Wilbon kudos to you. Sniveling idiot may have been a bit harsh, but the point is spot on. Why have retired officials in the booth if they are going to constantly cover for the officials on the field? Matt Austin is really bad at this. Give me Gene Steratore all day, every day.

 


The Weekly Shiny Penny

Is it possible that we have misjudged Danny Hurley. He is different, yes. Volatile, absolutely. However, he looks out for his guys and is willing to offer support to the opponent as well.

 


A Penny For My Final Thought…

I am not sure how I feel about the parity in the NFL. Is it better than the days of dominant teams? That depends. I loved the dominant Steelers teams of the 70’s, but hate the Tom Brady Patriots. Funny how that works.

One thing is for sure, parity has made the playoffs like that old Forrest Gump saying: the playoffs are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are gonna get.

Rams/Panthers

  • Matthew Stafford makes me nervous. He throws a lot of passes to the wrong team lately.
  • Puka Nacua is always open.
  • Carolina deserves credit for being in this game until the end. They still shouldn’t have qualified for the playoffs with a losing record.
  • Bryce Young is improving, but I still wouldn’t want him as my team’s “franchise quarterback”.

Packers/Bears

  • What a game!
  • Packers seem to take their foot off the gas pedal in the second half, knowing full well the Bears penchant for comebacks. I like Matt Lafleur, but will Packers management like him enough to comeback?
  • Jordan Love still doesn’t have an elite playmaker to work with. Jordan Love also isn’t elite.
  • Second half Bears are the most fun thing in the NFL. First half Bears will eventually cost them.
  • Caleb Williams is as good as I expected. He needed Ben Johnson to walk into his life. He needs to throw for a higher percentage, but he is a flat out playmaker as evidenced by this throw on 4th and 8 and the game in the balance.

 


Bills/Jaguars

  • The Jags are close. Trevor Lawrence plus Liam Coen should equal offensive success.
  • Everyone saying the Bills have an easy path with no Mahomes, Lamar, etc. are missing one important fact. Josh Allen is literally going to have to put this team entirely on his back. The Bills have limited talent.
  • Sean McDermott will be in trouble if they don’t make the Super Bowl.
  • Let’s take a look at the play that may finally put an end to the idiocy of the tush push. I have been saying for awhile now that this pushing and pulling out in the open field is ridiculous. Mark forward progress and end the play.

 


49ers/Eagles

  • Has Nick Sirianni been fired yet? This dope was doomed even after winning a Super Bowl. Then he hires his unqualified buddy to be offensive coordinator. This loss was bad. Very bad.
  • I said I would have traded AJ Brown at the trade deadline. Turns out I was right about that one.
  • I still have little faith in Brock Purdy. He can be thankful for Kyle Shanahan’s offense.
  • It is hard to believe this busted up group can advance must further.

Chargers/Patriots

  • The Patriots are up and coming. I am just not convinced they are there yet.
  • Drake Maye will be really good when they get him some elite receivers.
  • Jim Harbaugh has underachieved, in my eyes, since being hired in LA.
  • I have stuck up for Justin Herbert, thinking he is an elite NFL quarterback. He was awful Sunday night. It is true he has a bad offensive line and no elite receivers, but he just holds the ball and holds the ball. No wonder he gets the crap beat out of him.

Texans/Steelers

  • Texans defense is the real deal. Manhandled the Steelers offensive line.
  • CJ Stroud begged the Steelers to win with sloppy play, but the Steelers offense wasn’t close to up to the task.
  • Aaron Rodgers is simply too old to play consistently in the NFL. Move on. There is a dark cave somewhere far, far away with your name on it.
  • Mike Tomlin still may go the TV route. It just isn’t happening with him at the helm. Hires bad assistants, and on and on. I have said it forty times this year. It is time to move on.
  • Many, many more thought on the Steelers latest playoff flameout on my Wall2WallFootball podcast this week.

Well…time to focus on college hoops.

Just my two cents…