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ATLANTA — At the end of the third quarter, the loudspeakers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium played The Isley Brothers’ hit “Shout.” It’s a staple at Oregon, but on Friday in the Peach Bowl, the Ducks weren’t jumping up and down. By then, it was a 27-point affair and their season was all but over.
Some might expect an opponent to mock the tradition, but not Indiana. The Hoosiers were already locked in on the first play of the fourth quarter, as if it were a tie game.
In reality, the final 15 minutes were part of a 56-22 dismantling of the No. 5 team in the country in the College Football Semifinal — another milestone in Indiana football’s push toward college football immortality.
“We’re not really too into the antics or the outside noise,” running back Roman Hemby said. “We just want to execute our game plan and play toward zeros on the clock. We didn’t want it to be about us — just finishing the game right and coming out with the win.”
But on a Friday night in Atlanta, the moment was, in fact, about Indiana and the history it’s rewriting along the way.
In front of a sea of red inside the stadium, Curt Cignetti’s team did everything they’d done all season long. From D’Angelo Ponds’ opening play Pick 6 to Fernando Mendoza’s final kneel down, Indiana dominated Oregon.
Indiana didn’t dominate the first half, but Oregon committed the cardinal sin: making mistakes against a team that will make you pay for them.
After the opening-play defensive touchdown, Oregon quarterback Dante Moore fumbled twice, handing Mendoza and the Indiana offense prime field position inside the red zone with little effort.
Defense turned into offense as the Hoosiers scored 21 of their 35 points off those three turnovers, taking a commanding 35-7 lead into the break. Once again, they sent their opponent to the locker room, wondering what just happened.
Even at halftime, the Hoosiers stayed focused.
No fiery speech was necessary during the 22-minute intermission. They understood that complacency could erase their lead just as quickly as they had built it.
Unsurprisingly, it didn’t. Indiana remained diligent, scoring three more times to add to its lead. Its identity stems from its head coach and his expectations. There is no satisfaction in having a lead when there’s still time on the clock.
Cignetti’s players don’t play to earn his approval. It isn’t expected during the game and sometimes it doesn’t come after poor performances. But when Kaelon Black coasted in to make it a 41-point game with five minutes left, Cignetti finally gave in and smiled.
“We’re really just trying to hone in on the details to make his job easier, because he’s the leader of the ship for us,” Hemby said. “If he’s smiling, we’re doing something right.”
He got to bask in the moment, with the fans grinning right along beside him.
For a second straight week, the fan base he resurrected turned a neutral site into a home game and made it a party. By the fourth quarter, they were already booking flights to the next venue.
Its fever pitch when he hoisted a third trophy in as many games didn’t go unnoticed by the observant Cignetti.
“There’s nothing like having a home semifinal game,” Cignetti said during the trophy presentation. “There are no fans like Indiana Hoosier fans.”
Indiana’s fight against disbelief and shifting goalposts appears finished. Don’t tell Carter Smith that. In his eyes, there are still 60 minutes to prove beyond doubt that Indiana football belongs.
“We still have to get through one more before we can say that,” he proclaimed.
Indiana’s roster is full of players who have been questioned in their careers. Charlie Becker is one of those guys. Similar to his underrecruited and underappreciated teammates, he turns skepticism into fuel.
“There’s always going to be doubters, you know, every game you play,” Becker said. “And all that does is just make the chip on our shoulder even bigger.”
Even then, Indiana’s harshest critics come from within. The players’ relentless drive radiated through the jubilant postgame locker room. No matter the margin of victory, players want to improve and that starts in the film room.
Center Pat Coogan, set to appear in his second consecutive national title game, eagerly plans to catch and patch mistakes from the decisive victory. It’s who he and every one of his teammates has become playing for Cignetti.
“We’re gonna watch film on Sunday and I know there’s gonna be a lot to improve on,” he said.
Making history is all Indiana knows right now. The Hoosiers became the first team since 1896 to score 55 points or more and win by 30 points or more in seven different games in a single season — two of which came against top-10 opponents.
Indiana rewrites the story every week. Swap in a new opponent’s name and it’s ready for print. The Hoosiers wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s the Cignetti way — and it shows no signs of slowing anytime soon.
That story used to be one of humiliation and despair. Just two seasons ago, the program celebrated a three-overtime win against Akron in front of a near-empty Memorial Stadium. It was the same team that once settled for six-win seasons.
It now stands one victory away from its shining moment at college football’s summit.
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