Indiana could be the new Alabama dynasty after Curt Cignetti leads Nick Saban-like run

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Indiana could be the new Alabama dynasty after Curt Cignetti leads Nick Saban-like run

Lorenzo J Reyna, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Thu, Jan 22, 2026 ·

4 min read

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Indiana could be the new Alabama dynasty after Curt Cignetti leads Nick Saban-like run appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

Curt Cignetti now owns multiple national championships with crimson colored teams, having won in 2009 with Alabama. Indiana football , though, looks like the next "Crimson Tide" for college football after surpassing Miami .

"Cig" arrived to Bloomington needing to shift the culture fast. IU won a combined nine games in a three season span before his arrival. But the Hoosiers featured 12 seasons of nine losses or more in program history .

He brought over previous championship expertise he learned from past boss Nick Saban . Cignetti then carried a "Google me" message for how many games he's won. Then he built his roster with players who starred at previous universities…but outside of the Power Four realm. And a quarterback who was a two-star recruit and started his career as a walk-on in Fernando Mendoza .

But 48 hours following a historic championship run, fans are looking at the next dynasty after Alabama for multiple reasons.

Indiana just opened a new flood gate in welcoming recruits

Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Highly touted prospects always go after the schools that look like a lock for national title runs.

An Indiana hat never sat on a table or in front of an All-American game audience 10 years ago. Not a single U.S Navy All-American or Polynesian Bowl participant announced for IU either.

But four-star Ja'Hyde Brown picked up an Indiana hat over Ole Miss and even Alabama in front of the former game's crowd and cameras . The 2027 wide receiver wasn't alone either …as fellow four-star talent Monsanna Torbert Jr. snubbed Big Ten rival Iowa for IU.

Even the blue chip talents are realizing Indiana as the destination for winning championships. Conference rivals Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan and Oregon now must face a new reality — its biggest recruiting targets could choose the Hoosiers over them. Especially since Cignetti and his coaching staff can flash a championship ring to recruits while on home visits.

Cignetti brought Saban's Alabama to Indiana

© Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

You read that right. "Cig" created an Alabama atmosphere for a program that went 126 straight seasons without winning a national crown.

Saban's created his first Alabama teams in the trenches. Both IU fronts on offense and defense controlled the line of scrimmage for 16 straight games this past season.

Saban ran the ball right at defenses with multiple backs (Mark Engram II and Trent Richardson ). Cignetti helped bring both in during his Tuscaloosa run. Then he mimicked something similar with Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black — proving they can ground-and-pound like past Saban teams.

The multiple national title winner for the Tide built a fundamentally sound, disciplined and cerebral defense. Those units bottled explosive plays and relentlessly attacked the line of scrimmage. Indiana's 2025 unit played as if Saban was wearing a headset and calling the shots. IU throttled explosive offenses in Ohio State, 'Bama, Oregon and then Miami to close out the season.

Finally, Saban showed zero complacency but a desire to become better after every championship. Cignetti is another not satisfied even after cracking open a beer in celebration . "Cig" comes off as his own version of his past 'Bama boss.

Finally, IU is attracting big names outside of recruits

© Grace Hollars / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Josh Hoover of TCU arrives next as Mendoza heads off to the NFL.

That's not all — as ex-Michigan State wideout Nick Marsh comes in to replace Elijah Sarratt at wide receiver. One more past Big Ten rival Joe Brunner is IU bound after bouncing from Wisconsin.

Cignetti and IU raised its transfer portal game another level. Next year's team will feature even more former conference foes and big stars within the Power Four realm.

College football will prepare for a new crimson colored team to dominate the sport.

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