Indiana Football Didn't Just Beat Michigan State. It Beat Human Nature.

Indiana University's slogan is "Never Daunted." It's in the school's fight song and is printed on T-shirts sold across campus. But Indiana senior linebacker Aiden Fisher admitted the Hoosiers were scared entering Saturday's game against Michigan State.

Scared about complacency. Scared about falling into a Spartan-branded "trap game." Scared the roster would still be riding high off perhaps the biggest win in program history last week against Oregon.

Curt Cignetti sensed it, too. Following a Thursday practice marked by mistakes, Indiana's second-year coach addressed his team. That, he said, is when the Hoosiers' mentality started to flip.

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza said Cignetti "gave a very great talk" about avoiding complacency, respecting Michigan State and understanding anything can happen in a rivalry game.

Receiver Elijah Sarratt said it was about focusing, keeping the main things the main thing and stressing this week's importance. Fisher said Cignetti didn't want the Hoosiers to feel too good about themselves, to embrace the new expectation they can win those games and keep moving forward.

The R-rated version of the speech may have been more colorful, but it proved a critical turning point before the No. 3 Hoosiers' 38-13 win over Michigan State on Saturday at Merchants Bank Field inside Memorial Stadium.

"Look, you can't be a real nice guy when you have a job like mine, you know what I mean?" Cignetti said. "My job is to make sure they've got the right mindset ready to play. It's not always fun, but you've got to do what you've got to do."

Fisher, perhaps the player who most closely mirrors Cignetti within the Hoosiers' locker room, felt an immediate mindset shift.

"I think the back half of the week, after he gave that speech, we definitely honed it in and got back on the details," Fisher said.

Fisher acknowledged he felt the noise and clutter, as Cignetti often refers to it, leaked into "some guys" on Indiana's roster. But Fisher brought the defense together and stressed the Hoosiers needed to "get rid of that stuff," humble themselves and get back to their fashion.

Indiana's defense rallied behind Fisher, and the team rallied behind Cignetti to finish the week with a mental headspace the Hoosiers felt confident in.

"Towards the end of the week, when we were wrapping up the game plan and stuff, you got a good feeling about how the team's going," Sarratt said. "I feel like we handled the win at Oregon well and then we had a good week of practice. So, I feel like by Thursday, I knew we were pretty locked in."

Indiana is now facing a reality it only once could've dreamed of: Entering each week with a target on its back. The Hoosiers are no longer a get-right game for premier opponents; they are the premier opponent.

Expectations come with responsibilities. Indiana learned this week that humility and a consistent process is chief among them.

"Everybody kind of had a humbling moment during practice this week," Fisher said. "No game is going to be easy. It's never going to be like a team can come in here and roll over for you. We're going to get the best punch from everybody. You got to prepare like that.

"I think we did a good job towards the back half of the week, kind of honing back down, humbling ourselves, and getting ready to go."

Still, Indiana started slow defensively. Fisher dubbed it "very ugly." Michigan State's first two drives spanned 25 plays and occupied over 15 minutes of clock. The Spartans gained 130 yards and scored 10 points over the two possessions and held a 10-7 lead midway through the second quarter.

Then, Mendoza took over.

Indiana, which scored 47 unanswered points in a road win over Michigan State last season, put up 31 consecutive points Saturday evening. The Hoosiers scored touchdowns on their first five drives, and Mendoza finished 24-for-28 passing for 332 yards, four scores and no interceptions.

Sarratt caught two touchdowns, while redshirt junior Omar Cooper Jr. and senior E.J. Williams Jr. each added one receiving score. Senior running back Kaelon Black notched a 29-yard rushing touchdown, headlining a ground game that overcame a slow start — Indiana had only 49 rushing yards at halftime — to finish with 132 yards and a score on 28 attempts.

Michigan State added a field goal with 33 seconds remaining, ending a near-39-minute scoring drought during which Indiana eradicated any ounce of complacency still hiding in the walls of Memorial Stadium.

"You have to fight (complacency) every day, especially coming off a successful season or a successful game," Fisher said. "I think we do a great job of it, just staying humble and hungry and kind of keeping the clutter and the noise out."

Indiana had no shortage of noise or clutter.

The Hoosiers have their highest ranking in program history, and they appear poised to rise another spot after No. 2 Miami fell to unranked Louisville on Friday night.

Cignetti spent Sunday through Thursday as the topic of conversation after Penn State fired coach James Franklin, with several pundits putting Cignetti atop the list of potential replacements. Cignetti then signed a new eight-year contract Thursday afternoon, making him the third highest-paid coach in the sport at an average annual salary of $11.6 million.

Between what Cignetti calls the "warm fuzzies" associated with winning and the national discussion about its coach's future, Indiana could've easily given into the distractions. Instead, the Hoosiers bought into Cignetti's speech Thursday evening.

It was a calculated decision. Cignetti's methods often lead to wins. He's now 18-2 at Indiana, which is still the losingest program in college football history.

Indiana's victory Saturday won't generate the same fanfare or attention as its upset over Oregon. The Hoosiers were 26.5-point favorites to beat Michigan State, and they won by 25 points. Business? Handled.

But Indiana didn't just beat the Spartans. Cignetti and his team beat human nature.

"Sometimes you know when they're going to be ready to play, and then sometimes you know the entire organization — what did (former Duke basketball coach) Mike Krzyzewski say when he retired? He said, 'Toughest opponent he's ever faced was human nature,'" Cignetti said.

"Well, human nature after winning against Oregon is to be happy and relaxed, (be it) support staff, coaches, players, trainers."

Cignetti hadn't fully started his celebration in Eugene before thinking about the complacency-based challenge Indiana faced in the week ahead. But the Hoosiers, like they've done with every roadblock they've encountered this season, rose to the occasion.

Without Cignetti's speech Thursday, perhaps it's a different tale.

Perhaps Fisher doesn't get to run into the locker room, hoisting the Old Brass Spittoon overhead. Perhaps left tackle Carter Smith doesn't get to show off the trophy to the rain-drenched students hanging over the railing in the Northeast corner of Memorial Stadium.

But Cignetti knew what buttons to push, and when to push them. It's the mark of a great coach. The Hoosiers responded when Cignetti delivered his message. It's the mark of a great team.

Indiana won the game Saturday, but Cignetti made the first big play Thursday — sparked by an attitude so strong, so defiant that it broke one of man's most damning habits.

"It gets gritty in there when he gets in his mood sometimes," Sarratt said, "but it's good for us usually."