#2 Indiana took down #1 Ohio State in Big 10 Championship, now #1 seed in CFP…and NC State had a role in it

#2 Indiana is the talk of college football this morning after taking down #1 Ohio State in the Big 10 title game to win their first Big 10 title since 1945. They will now be the top seed in the CFP.

It’s crazy because Indiana wasn’t even a factor before hiring their head coach, Curt Cignetti. In fact, don’t take it from me, here is what the New York Times had to say…

Start the search all the way back, and you won’t find any magic to explain what’s happened at Indiana.

You just get reintroduced, again and again, to the same Curt Cignetti:

“A cocky nerd,” as one ex-player puts it, with an immunity to identity crisis.https://t.co/yDzPGt8m9a

— Brian Hamilton (@_Brian_Hamilton) December 3, 2025

Or NBC…

Indiana, the school and state synonymous with basketball, is now a pigskin powerhouse on the precipice of its second straight College Football Playoff.

Did Hoosiers fans ever expect this?

“Hell no,” Mark Cuban, a 1981 alum, told NBC News. https://t.co/h3ZBRDZJ6m

— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 6, 2025

Cignetti is being singled out as the difference maker by his players, the fans, and by Indiana’s Athletic Department, who just made him one of the top 3 highest-paid coaches in college football. (Bill Belichick is #10 😂)

But did you know that Cignetti played a major role in NC State’s football resurgence during the Amato era?

Cignetti had a seven-year stint under head coach Chuck Amato, where he served the recruiting Coordinator (2000–2006) and was instrumental in building top-tier talent pipelines. Two of his recruiting classes ranked in the top 10 nationally, and he was named one of the top 25 recruiters in the nation by Rivals.com in 2004.

He also served as the QB Coach from 2003–2004. During which he mentored ACC Player of the Year and Wolfack/NFL legend Philip Rivers in 2003.

With Cignetti on staff, NC State Football was humming…

• A school-record 11-win season in 2002 + Gator Bowl victory.
• Participation in five bowl games overall, with wins in four
• Two Top-25 finishes during his tenure (#12 in 2002, #21 in 2003).

Cignetti was also responsible for the signing of NC State QB Russell Wilson, who, as we all know, dominated in Raleigh and eventually went on to play in the NFL.

Prior to his time at NC State, Cignetti was at Pitt serving as a Tight End coach and recruiting coordinator, and before that, he was a grad assistant at Temple.

So yeah, if you wanna know where Cignetti cut his teeth and started his ascent to becoming one of the top coaches in College Football, it was right here at NC State.

You’re welcome.