Head Coach Curt Cignetti during the Indiana versus Illinois football game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025 Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Indiana's Curt Cignetti Makes Coach of Year Case With Win Over Dan Lanning, Oregon

Originally posted on Oregon Ducks on SI | By Cory Pappas | Last updated Oct 14, 2025 11:56 AM ET

The No. 8 Oregon Ducks dropped their first game of the season to the No. 3 Indiana Hoosiers. Indiana, led by second year coach Curt Cignetti was able to go into a hostile Autzen Stadium and snap the longest active home winning streak in the country.

Cignetti was already making a case as the coach of the year in college football, and the win over Oregon certainly helped.

Curt Cignetti: Midseason Coach of the Year?

Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Cignetti got his biggest win in his Hoosiers coaching career over Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks. Lanning has been widely considered to be the next superstar coach in the sport, making the head to head win for Cignetti all the more impressive.

Bill Connelly of ESPN has Cignetti as his coach of the year at the midpoint of the college football season.

“A program (Indiana) that had gone 9-27 in the three years before his (Cignetti’s) arrival. The Hooisers had never won double-digit hames in a season, and in the previous 50 years they had played just two games as a top-10 team, losing both,” Connelly said. “This was Indiana’s first-ever top-10-versus-top-10 win in five tries. It was also the Hooisers’ 17th win in 19 games under Cignetti.”

Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Against Oregon, Indiana showed that they were the better team. This was not some fluke with a couple of crazy plays and the ball bouncing their way. They outplayed Oregon.

“This wasn’t some soft of smash-and-grab, turnovers-based up,” Connelly said. “The Hooisers actually gave up a fourth-quarter pick-six…They beat Oregon by beating them, allowing just 64 yards in the second half and aside from a single 44-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, 213 yards for the game.”

Indiana, Oregon Seeking Consecutive College Football Playoff Appearances

Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Oregon Ducks and Indiana Hoosiers each made the College Football Playoff last season and will look to get back again this season. Oregon went undefeated in the regular season in 2024 and then won the Big Ten championship. Oregon was the No. 1 ranked team in the playoff and earned a first round bye.

Oregon’s stay in the dance didn’t last long as they got eliminated by the eventual national champion Ohio State Buckeyes in the quarterfinals.

Indiana on the other hand went 11-1 in 2024, with their only regular season loss coming to Ohio State. The Hoosiers made the playoff as the No. 10 ranked team. They lost their first round matchup on the road against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

According to DraftKings Sportbook, the odds favor both the Hoosiers and Ducks getting back to the playoff. Indiana has odds of -2000 while Oregon is at -300.