It’s not often that a team wins its bye week. This year’s feel-good story and potential College Football Playoff surprise are the 10-0 Indiana Hoosiers. The 2024 edition of the Hoosiers squad has a fantastic argument to be the best in the 137 years the program has existed. Head coach Curt Cignetti has injected into the program a level of hype and pride never before seen in Bloomington. While most eyes are on the Indiana bye week focusing on the Hoosiers preparing for its top-five matchup at Ohio State, the program made two massive splashes.
Indiana’s number-five ranking is the program’s best since it was fourth in the AP Poll in 1967 (and in 1945). The matchup at Ohio State will be the program’s first-ever top-five matchup. In 1967, Indiana fell from fifth in the AP Poll to unranked after losing to Minnesota and did not recover after taking down the third-ranked Purdue before the Rose Bowl.
Indiana Wins Big on its Bye Week
Head Coach Extended
When Cignetti jumped from James Madison to Indiana, even the most optimistic takes would not have ever believed he would have the Hoosiers fighting for the College Football Playoff in year one. Even Cignetti and all of his fanfare had to think there would be more work to be done. Now, after 10 wins, the Hoosiers extended their head coach through 2032.
For a coach like Cignetti and a program like Indiana, the devil is in the details. The Indiana job is not a destination job. If a coach is worth his salt, it’s very unlikely he will hang around for a decade with as much success as Cignetti has had in his career. As he put it to recruits, “I win. Google me.” The contract is for $72 million ($8 million per year) with a yearly $1 million retention bonus to incentivize Cignetti to stick around.
He’s right, of course. At Indiana University of Pennsylvania (Division II), he finished with a 53-17 record in six seasons with two division titles and one Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference title. Then, he moved on to Elon (FCS) where he amassed a 14-9 record in two seasons where he led the Phoenix to back-to-back NCAA Division I Championship playoff appearances for the first time in program history. He then moved on to James Madison where he made it to the semifinals of the FCS playoffs in his first three seasons and even fell in the National Championship in 2019. Then, the Dukes made the jump to the FBS level and he led the program to back-to-back Sun Belt East Division titles (shared in 2022; FCS-to-FBS transition rules prohibited JMU from playing in the conference championship). In total, he went 52-9 at JMU.
Cignetti will be a hot commodity each offseason if he continues to win. It will be quite the story if he continually spurns larger programs to stick with Indiana.
Read More: Kurtis Rourke is a Davey O’Brien Semifinalist
Another Massive Recruiting Win
Indiana’s bye week also netted a top recruit for the Hoosiers’ 2025 class. Byron Baldwin, Jr., a safety from St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, Maryland, pledged his services to Indiana on Saturday.
BREAKING: Four-Star Safety Byron Baldwin Jr. has Committed to Indiana, he tells me for @on3recruits
The 6’1 185 S from Baltimore, MD chose the Hoosiers over Colorado
“Hoosier nation, I’m home!!”https://t.co/gWIQszlV15 pic.twitter.com/TxDc7s1HkV
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) November 16, 2024
Baldwin is considered a four-star recruit by 247Sports and is the 17th-best safety and 180th-best overall player in the country. Cignetti was able to fend off Deion Sanders and his Colorado Buffaloes.
The six-foot-one-and-a-half-inch, 180-pound defensive back has played at both safety and corner. He excels in zone coverage and has reportedly taken a massive step in man coverage. 247Sports projects him as an ascending prospect who can make an impact early and develop into an NFL Draft pick.
Baldwin is also a multi-sport athlete. He wrestles and competes in track and field in addition to his efforts on the gridiron. He’s the 22nd commit to the Hoosiers and is the lone four-star in the class.
Read More: Indiana’s offensive line is among the best
Now It Gets Fun
With two regular-season games to go, all eyes will be on the Hoosiers following Indiana’s bye. This week, the Hoosiers travel to the second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes for an inside track to the Big Ten Championship. A loss all but eliminates Indiana (a lot of chaos has to happen). In a just world, a loss doesn’t eliminate the Hoosiers from CFP contention but Indiana doesn’t have decades of prestige to fall back upon like some of the SEC powers on the bubble.
If Indiana beats Ohio State to get to 11-0, only a win over Purdue would stand between the Hoosiers and a shot for the Big Ten title. Depending on how the chips fall, Indiana could host a first-round CFP game.
Indiana’s bye week may not result in an official win on the scoresheet. It’s apparent they’re winning in the grand scheme of things.
