Led by Curt Cignetti, last season Indiana became the 12th FBS college football program since 2000 to increase its year-over-year win total by eight or more games.
So how did the next season go for the 11 teams that accomplished the feat ahead of IU? Let’s take a look. (Note: This doesn’t include win increases from the 2020 condensed schedule to 2021.)
But before we do that, consider this: Indiana has had two coaches before Cignetti orchestrate at least a five-win turnaround twice in its own history:
- Bo McMillin 1942 (+5 vs. 1941)
- John Pont 1967 (+8 vs. 1966)
For McMillin it was the start of arguably the best stretch of success in IU football’s history from 1942-47 before he was hired by the Detroit Lions. Pont meanwhile was 6-4 in 1968, before suffering four-straight losing seasons.
Here’s how it went in year two following the best turnarounds in college football this century:
UCF
2004: 0-11
2005: 8-5
2006: 4-8
George O’Leary orchestrated an impressive turnaround in 2005. UCF wasn’t able to immediately sustain it, but O’Leary did produce double-digit wins four times from 2007-2013.
HOUSTON
2010: 5-7
2011: 13-1
2012: 5-7
As can often happen when schools produce quick turnarounds, coach Kevin Sumlin was snatched up following the 2011 season, and Houston struggled.
AIR FORCE
2013: 2-10
2014: 10-3
2015: 8-6
This was more the story of a good coach who had a bad season in 2013. Troy Calhoun has been the head coach at Air Force since 2007 and has produced 12 winning seasons.
FLORIDA ATLANTIC
2016: 3-9
2017: 11-3
2018: 5-7
Lane Kiffin’s first year at FAU saw an eight-win turnaround. He couldn’t sustain it in 2018, but did win 11 games again in 2019 before leaving for Ole Miss.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN
2017: 2-10
2018: 10-3
2019: 7-6
Chad Lunsford orchestrated a massive turnaround in his first full year at Georgia Southern. But he couldn’t sustain the high level success and was fired in 2021.
NAVY
2018: 3-10
2019: 11-2
2020: 3-7
The 2019 season wound up being longtime Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo’s last winning season. The Midshipmen won four or fewer games over the next three years before he was let go at the end of 2022.
TCU
2021: 5-7
2022: 13-2
2023: 5-7
Sonny Dykes led TCU to the CFP in his first season with the program, but they weren’t able to sustain anywhere near that level in year two. They bounced back in 2024 with a 9-4 record.
MIAMI (OH)
2009: 1-11
2010: 10-4
2011: 4-8
Michael Haywood led an impressive turnaround for Miami in his second season, and then left for Pittsburgh. Miami would not produce another winning season until 2019.
AUBURN
2012: 3-9
2013: 12-2
2014: 8-5
Gus Malzahn’s year one turnaround at Auburn might be the best comparison to what Curt Cignetti did at IU last season. Malzahn produced eight-straight winning seasons at Auburn, but never got more than 10 wins again.
FRESNO STATE
2016: 1-11
2017: 10-4
2018: 12-2
Jeff Tedford actually improved on his massive year one turnaround with two more wins in year two. The success caught the eye of IU coach Tom Allen, who hired Fresno St. offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer following the 2018 campaign.
TULANE
2021: 2-10
2022: 12-2
2023: 11-3
Willie Fritz was on the hot seat in 2022 after six seasons and Tulane headed in the wrong direction. But Fritz produced to strong seasons and instead became a hot prospect. He was thought to be a candidate for the IU opening, but instead got a Big 12 job at Houston.
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