Indiana football has spent the last two years under Curt Cignetti redefining what’s possible for its program to achieve.
The Hoosiers completed another chapter of that story on Friday. Yes, they obliterated Purdue in a 56-3 rout to capture a second consecutive Old Oaken Bucket. But more significantly, they finished off a 12-0 regular season for the first time ever. It’s the second-ever undefeated regular season in IU history — Bo McMillan led the program to a 9-0-1 campaign in 1945. But this 2025 season, 80 years later, has reached another level.
That feat shouldn’t be taken lightly.
“It’s really hard, especially at the P4 level,” Cignetti said after the game. “I think there’s only about five Big Ten teams that have gone undefeated in the regular season since 2000.”
Indiana also officially clinched a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game with the victory. It’s IU’s first-ever appearance in the title game, which will kick off at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
The Hoosiers will face either No. 1 Ohio State, No. 6 Oregon, or No. 15 Michigan, depending on Saturday’s results. If the Buckeyes beat the Wolverines in Ann Arbor, Mich., Indiana will face OSU. If Michigan wins that game, kicking off at noon ET, attention will turn to Oregon’s game at Washington. A Michigan win and an Oregon win would set up a rematch between the Hoosiers and the Ducks; if the Huskies pulled off the upset after a UM victory, Indiana would play the Wolverines.
Cignetti predicted he’d get the Hoosiers to the Big Ten title game when he got the IU job in December 2023. During an interview with Big Ten Network at Lucas Oil Stadium ahead of the 2023 Big Ten Championship Game, he said his team would be playing in the next season’s game.
That didn’t quite happen, but it doesn’t diminish the achievement.
“We’re a year late,” Cignetti joked. “It’s going to be a great game.”
Indiana is one of only two remaining undefeated teams in FBS, along with Ohio State. Texas A&M dropped its first game of the season on Friday night against Texas, leaving the Big Ten with the last two undefeated teams. IU will be turning its attention to the conference title game, with the College Football Playoff coming up after that.
The CFP bracket will be revealed the day after the Big Ten Championship Game, Sunday, December 7. The Hoosiers, given the landscape around the sport, appear well-positioned for a first-round bye regardless of what happens in Indianapolis next week. That would send IU to either the Rose Bowl, the Orange Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, or the Cotton Bowl for the CFP quarterfinals.
Even 15 months ago, Indiana football couldn’t have realistically dreamed of pulling off this level of achievement and being in this position. It’s yet another checkpoint and benchmark of Cignetti’s remarkable transformation of the once-losingest program in college football history into a national power and legitimate national championship contender.
The Indiana Hoosiers football team just completed an undefeated 12-0 regular season, and will play for the Big Ten championship next week. No matter what happens in December and January, those achievements will go down in program history.
“It’s a great night for Indiana, for our fan base, our alums, our loyal supporters, everybody that cares about Indiana,” Cignetti said. “This is something that a lot of people probably thought couldn’t happen. And it just goes to show you, when you have a commitment and a plan, and you have the right people in place, anything’s possible.”
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