Curt Cignetti sat down with reporters on Sunday afternoon, roughly 36 hours before his Indiana Hoosiers would attempt something nobody saw coming back in August—winning a national championship. The 64-year-old coach, whose undefeated squad is favored against Miami, didn’t waste time with flowery motivational rhetoric. Instead, Cignetti offered his usual blend of bluntness, football philosophy, and occasional one-liners that have made him one of the sport’s most quotable figures during Indiana’s improbable run through the College Football Playoff. 

Curt Cignetti’s opening statement:

“Thank you. Great to be here in Miami. About a day and a half of preparation left to kind of sharpen the saw, so to speak. Really got a lot of respect for the Miami Hurricane organization football program. When you watch these guys on tape, they really play the game with tenacity, intensity, physical, relentless, get after it. Coach Cristobal has done a great job with that program, and it’s going to be a huge challenge for our football team. And, looking forward to the game.”

Curt Cignetti on why he chose football: 

“I grew up the son of a coach. I was the oldest of four. Where he’s from, everybody was a steelworker or coal miner, and it seemed like a pretty cool thing to do for a living. When we went to West Virginia in 1970, and I was on the sideline for all the home games, it was Bobby Bowden’s first year as a head coach in West Virginia. I pretty much knew in my heart what I wanted to do. I don’t know what else I would have done other than coach.”

Curt Cignetti on the most rewarding part of leading student athletes to this game: 

“You know we have a veteran team. These guys have started a lot of games. In Big 10 media days, somebody had mentioned we had more career starts going into this season by far than any other team. This group has tried to apply the message to me. It’s all about messaging and getting there by thinking alike in terms of how we wanna play in the field, more so than any other group. And this group has great leadership, intelligence, and character. And they ate extremely close. So, I think this team has some special qualities in their ability to go on the road and win close games. Quarterbacks play their best with the game on the line. But there’s one more chapter to write, and we’re going to find out in about 36 hours.”

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Curt Cignetti on what being a national champion would mean:

“It would mean we’re the national champion.”

Curt Cignetti on lessons from his dad and Bobby Bowden:

“I think my dad was a great leader, but he led by example. He had a certain presence to him. He had a great work ethic and discipline. He overcame cancer twice, my senior year of high school when he was a head coach at West Virginia. He was given his last rites twice. Never really got to quite finish what he started there. Coach Bowden, I can vividly remember a game at Maryland at halftime in the locker room, something that will stick with me forever in terms of him and the team. I’m not going to share that message. But I just think I learned a lot from my dad and the game. Always knew what I wanted to do and drew from every person throughout my career, assistant and head coach. While my journey is very unique, I think it did prepare me for this particular opportunity and the changes that have taken place in college football.”

Curt Cignetti on the bond between players:

“Yeah, I think leading up to this game, there’s been a lot of pro-Indiana hype, a lot of rat poison out there. I happened to see a Holly Rowe thing on social media this morning about our guys hugging each other at the end of practice. It is a close team. I’ve witnessed quite a bit of sentimentalism throughout the week from some of our seniors, who we’ve been with quite a long time. I think it’s time to sharpen the saw now, throw those warm fuzzies out the door, that sentimentalism. It’s time to go play a game against a great opponent. We’ve got to have a sharp edge going into this game. You don’t go to war with warm milk and cookies.”

Curt Cignetti on Bob Knight and his undefeated season:

“Yeah, it was 50 years ago, as a matter of fact, and I was a big Bob Knight fan as a little kid. I liked the sort of shenanigans and the faces at the press conferences and throwing the chair across the court. I thought that was pretty cool. And the guy I bought my house from was a big friend of Bob Knight, actually. But it really has no effect on what’s going to take place here at 7:50 tomorrow night. But it was 50 years ago, and if we’re able to climb that mountain, it’ll be a unique coincidence.”

Curt Cignetti on the transfer portal being a distraction:

“I think we’re beyond that point now. The first weekend it opened, when you could have official visitors and had commitments, I had to deal with it the following day very briefly, and after that, I thought we were fine. It’s a reality of college football, and I think the players understand it’s a reality. It doesn’t mean they accept or respond to the consequences of it very well all the time, but I don’t see it as a big issue.”

Curt Cignetti on his team’s identity ahead of the final game

“For us, it’s a typical Friday, the day before a game. We have a certain thing we do before game 1, game 6, we’ll do it before this game. It’s my job to do everything I can to make sure our team is totally prepared and has the right mindset going in so they can put it on the field and play 1 to 150. So today will be no different than any other Friday before a Saturday game.”

Curt Cignetti on Miami’s home game being a motivator:

“I’m not sure it’s a motivator. It is what it is; it’s factual. This is where Miami plays their home football games, and we’re playing a game against them with a lot on the line. That’s it, plain and simple.”

Curt Cignetti on Miami’s defensive line:

“Yeah, I think that’s where it all starts in football—up front on both sides of the ball. I think it’s very impressive. They’re deep. They’re twitchy. They’re strong. They’re violent. I know Corey likes that word “violent. They’re philosophically very similar to us in terms of disruption, TFLs, sacks, stop the run, they just do it a little differently. The ends are premier players. The inside guys are very, very good. They’re too deep everywhere, and they’re hard to block. They do a nice job of tying the whole package in to keep you off balance, and they’ll be a big challenge.”

Curt Cignetti on how far Indiana has come from the beginning of the season:

“Well, the first play of the game in our opener, Old Dominion went 80 yards for a touchdown on a quarterback run, so we were down 7-0, just like that. I think we’ve built on our successes. Success brings belief, which brings confidence and more success, and repetition—repetition is the mother of learning; you get better. With some big road game wins, we developed more belief and confidence that we were a resilient football team and could overcome any kind of expected challenge. So I think the team grew quite a bit and has put itself in a position to be where we are today.”