For Indiana’s defense, the road to the Rose Bowl was paved with rejection slips, a reality that linebacker Aiden Fisher isn’t letting anyone forget. Now Curt Cignetti has proved this year that Indiana is no fluke – the Hoosiers are as competitive as the bluebloods. And he’s done it with a bunch of guys who were passed on by said blue bloods. At Indiana, under Cignetti, they’ve finally had their vindication.

Among the 8 teams remaining in the playoffs this season, the Hoosiers are definitely the odd ones out. Nobody would’ve picked Indiana as a playoff contender, and now, they are one of the best bets to win the National Championship.

And it’s a reality that the players haven’t forgotten either – players who went relatively unnoticed before they were picked by Indiana. In fact, even with their current success, they are using that experience as motivation to prove doubters wrong, as Aiden Fisher, now one of the best college linebackers in the country, recently spoke about.

“There’s always a chip on our shoulder,” Fisher said on December 30, ahead of the game. “Not a lot of people recruited us or wanted us, if that was high school recruiting or in the transfer portal. And I’ve said it before, nobody we’re gonna play from here on out ever recruited any of us.”

Fisher began his collegiate career at James Madison when Curt Cignetti was the Dukes’ head coach. But he only had a 3-star rating, and the only other notable school to offer him was Virginia Tech.

Today, Fisher is a Butkus Award finalist. He has emerged as one of the keys to success for Indiana football in its campaign to script history. He is joined by many other Hoosiers who have almost the same trajectories. A look at those of Indiana’s stat leaders is enough proof of Fisher’s claim.

Heisman Winner Fernando Mendoza is one such Hoosier himself. During his prep career, he was rejected by schools like LSU, Alabama, Clemson, and South Carolina. The elite QB was also dealing with a tough situation in his family. Roman Hemby, the Hoosiers’ leading RB, was practically kicked out of Maryland despite having more than 2,000 yards on the board. Star wideout Elijah Sarratt was a zero-star recruit coming out of high school. Rolijah Hardy, who leads the defense in tackles, was also a zero-star recruit.

Except for Omar Cooper Jr. and EJ Williams, Curt Cignetti has built his Natty-contending team with talents who were ignored by the better schools. Now, these formerly unknown players are part of the biggest turnarounds in CFB history. They’ve become crucial pieces of Indiana’s success.

Today, Indiana football is a popular program across all levels of high school football players. The 2026 class has four 4-star recruits, while the 2025 class had only 2. If the Hoosiers can create history one more time by winning the Rose Bowl, the impact will be monumental.

Aiden Fisher called out Indiana doubters before the Rose Bowl

The Hoosiers enter as the favorite against Alabama, a program that’s traditionally won national championships. And it’s Curt Cignetti and his bold vision that made it all possible.

This is a revamp that’s one for the history books. But all of this praise has come forward during the season. Fisher also fired back at all those doubters who wrote Indiana off before the season even began.

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“We’ve had, what, three weeks now to prepare for this game. Throughout those three weeks, everybody is Indiana’s biggest fan now. But when the season started, nobody was a fan of Indiana.”

The tag of ‘Cinderella story’ followed Indiana football from last year till the beginning of this season. Indiana was even predicted to finish last in the conference in preseason chatter. But with every single game, the Hoosiers proved that they’re not a one-hit wonder.

Now, they have a Heisman winner and a 2-time AP Coach of the Year in Curt Cignetti. From being underestimated at the start of the season, Indiana football has fought its way to become the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.