Everyone knows Indiana’s fairytale season ended with a national championship under Curt Cignetti. But now, the untold moments behind that historic run are beginning to surface. In one revealing episode, Cignetti was so engrossed before a matchup against a ranked opponent that he forgot a team tradition.
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With Indiana preparing for one of its biggest tests of the season against third-ranked Oregon on October 11 last year, an unexpected pregame moment nearly threw head coach Curt Cignetti off schedule: he lost track of time while getting ready to lead his customary Lord’s Prayer, as reported by USA Today.
Strength coach Derek Owings noticed that the team hadn’t prayed together as they were about to take the field. Considering Cignetti was a man of following traditions, Owings asked, “Coach, are we going to pray?” But after glancing at the time on his watch, the head coach delivered a quirky response that Owings was caught off guard by. He said, “Ah, f— it. Pray for Oregon.”
The anecdote comes from an excerpt in “Unthinkable to Unstoppable: How Curt Cignetti and the Indiana Hoosiers Stunned College Football,” a yet-to-be-released book by Michael Niziolek and Zach Osterman.
This was exactly the kind of attitude they needed at the time, as they were desperate for redemption after losing 46 straight games against AP Top-5 teams. Moreover, in 2024, Indiana lost similar games against Ohio State and Notre Dame.
Entering the matchup with a perfect 5-0 record to begin their 2025 campaign, they were looking to slay the beast in its own backyard at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. While Cignetti’s intentions may not have been to disrespect Oregon, his quote has polarized opinions online.
One of the fans rallied against Cignetti’s quote, stating that his tone was disrespectful, “This is disrespectful on so many levels. Oregon is such a better program.” At the same time, another supported the head coach, especially after he delivered the national championship, “Used to hate this guy for his arrogance. Now all I can do is respect it.”
The support for the head coach seldom stopped, as HawgBeat Half Hour Podcast host Jackson Collier wrote, “This dude is a maniac, and I love it,” in a show of support. One man took a shot at LSU head coach Lane Kiffin, saying, “This man is who Lane Kiffin wishes he could be.”
For Indiana, the stakes were high. For the first time in three years, the Hoosiers looked like a complete team, and when they faced Oregon, they showed exactly what they had become.
The Ducks entered the game ranked in the top five nationally and riding an 18-game home winning streak, but against Indiana, they struggled. The Hoosiers wanted Oregon QB Dante Moore to hold on to the ball for long. They took away his first reads and disguised coverages.
That gave the Indiana defensive front enough time to pressure Moore. The Hoosiers ended up generating pressure on 20 of Moore’s 42 dropbacks. In total, he was sacked six times. As the second half unfolded, Indiana players observed that the Ducks’ QB1 appeared completely weary and battered.
“We were on the sideline [saying], ‘Oh yeah, we got him,'” running back Solomon Vanhorse said, per USA Today. “‘He don’t want to be here no more. He’s tired of this.’ Then you could see the whole offense shut down.”
At the end of the day, Indiana won 30-20, successfully snapping Oregon’s 18-game home winning streak. The performance also took Moore out of the Heisman debate, who was an early frontrunner for the award heading into the Indiana matchup.