AFTER A CENTURY of looking up at other teams, Indiana University propelled its program to rank as the best football team ever from the state of Indiana by winning the College Football National Championship and finishing with an incredible undefeated season of 16-0. Close the book.
Coach Curt Cignetti said that after the Rose Bowl, this season would make a pretty good movie, and the ending came out picture perfect. After watching the 64-year-old coach’s team dissect non-conference, Big Ten, and playoff foes, I came to the realization that we were watching a finely tuned team that consistently plays beautiful football in all three phases.
Rarely is the word beautiful used in relation to a football team’s play, but for these national champions, it’s the only word that fits.
As an example, the Hoosiers were flagged for defensive penalties just 13 times this season, including once in the championship game on Monday. In the playoffs, they were flagged once in the Rose Bowl quarterfinal against Alabama and once in the Peach Bowl semifinal against Oregon.
Indiana’s secondary was guilty of pass interference just twice this season. In my opinion, those stats alone are a testament to the quality of game preparation the players receive, alongside the coaching of Cignetti. That discipline makes Indiana the fourth least penalized team in the nation behind Army, Iowa, and Air Force while finishing second in the country just behind Army for fewest penalty yards per game at 27.1.
Another example of their pristine play is the performance of quarterback Fernando Mendoza. The Heisman Trophy winner and MVP of the title game came through with a clutch performance. Intercepted just six times during the season while completing 73 percent of his passes for 41 touchdowns, it was his legs that fans will forever remember the most. Early in the fourth quarter on fourth and five, Mendoza dove his way into the end zone while bouncing off linebackers in the process and scored a touchdown that showed the world why he was selected as college football’s best.
As far as the hierarchy for teams throughout the state of Indiana goes, Notre Dame has 11 titles, proving they are the best in Indiana and quite possibly the entire nation. The Irish rank fourth all-time behind Alabama, Yale, and Princeton, with the latter two winning their titles when players wore leather helmets. The 1988 Irish, under then third-year coach Lou Holtz, finished that season with an unblemished 12-0 record and a championship. But that was a while ago, and 10 years before the College Football Playoffs were created in 1998.
Each defeated highly ranked teams on the way to the championships. Most notably, the Irish defeated then top-ranked Miami in the classic Catholics vs. Convicts contest, 31-30, and ending Miami’s 36-game regular season winning streak. Notre Dame also defeated three other teams in the top 10 in that same season.
On defense, the 1988 Irish were elite, allowing just 12.3 points per contest and ranking third nationally in a 12-game season. They were ranked tenth that season in rushing defense while allowing 1,236 yards. This season, Indiana finished ranked second nationally in scoring defense, allowing 11.1 points per game, and second nationally in rushing defense, allowing 75 yards per contest for a total of 1,542 for the year.
Offensively, Notre Dame scored 32.6 points per contest while IU has a 42.6 points per game scoring average. Quarterback Tony Rice led the Irish that year, passing for eight touchdowns and rushing for 9 more.
When comparing then to now, these Hoosiers ended No. 2 Ohio State’s stranglehold on the Big Ten by disposing of the Buckeyes in the conference title game. Indiana also collected statement wins over then-ranked No. 9 Illinois and No. 11 Alabama in the CFP semifinals, and twice against the top 10-ranked University of Oregon.
Looking at each championship team’s final stats, the Hoosiers have the edge in nearly every category and did it on the way to 16 wins, which makes them, in my opinion, the best team ever to represent the state of Indiana.
For all the long-suffering IU fans out there, enjoy the ride. It’s just beginning.
