College Football's rebuild clock reset by Indiana's rapid ascent

Can Razorbacks capture lightning in a bottle by taking Hoosiers' blueprint?

Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti looks on in the second quarter against the Miami Hurricanes during the College Football Playoff National Championship game at Hard Rock Stadium. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — College football used to grant new head coaches a grace period with two or three years to recruit, install systems, and build a culture before results were demanded.

That window no longer exists because of the transfer portal era and immediate roster turnover.

Indiana’s rapid rise to the sport’s highest stage has reset expectations everywhere, fair or not, for what “Year 2” is supposed to look like.

There has been a shift in thinking that has become impossible to ignore this postseason with Indiana's ascent to college football lore.

Long considered one of college football’s most patient rebuilds, maybe even a career killer, Curt Cignetti compressed a multiyear climb into a single, stunning leap. His arrival in Bloomington changed a way of thinking when it comes to struggling programs.

Hire a winner unafraid of challenges.

"I win. Google me," Cignetti said during his introductory press conference in Dec. 2023.

Indiana Coach Curt Cignetti: I win. Google me.

Nick Saban vibes. pic.twitter.com/FyOjgRPIW8

— Jacob Davis (@jacobdaviscfb) December 23, 2023

His success challenges the sport’s long-held assumption that transformation requires time, reminding everyone that with the right mix of portal hits, internal buy-in, and organizational clarity, the timeline for a rebuild can change overnight.

The data for those coaches who have won national championships in Year 2 are low with only Curt Cignetti (Indiana) joining Urban Meyer (Florida), Gene Chizik (Auburn) and Larry Coker (Miami) doing so since the turn of the century.

Three of those teams had already reached the summit at least once.

Cignetti achieved perfection at Indiana, the losingest program in college football history prior to his hiring in Bloomington ahead of the 2024 season. With a 27-2 overall record, a Heisman winner in Fernando Mendoza, and a team that rarely makes mistakes executed its game plan to perfection against Miami.

He achieved the impossible.

“We won the National Championship at Indiana University," Cignetti said during the ESPN broadcast interview. "It can be done.”

“We won the National Championship at Indiana University. It can be done.”

- Curt Cignetti pic.twitter.com/IBKioVnEgJ

— Coach Dan Casey (@CoachDanCasey) January 20, 2026

Shift Change

The Hoosiers have laid the groundwork on what it takes a desperate perennial doormat to become a national title contender in record timing. Cignetti's process may not be duplicated again, but that won't stop athletics directors and fans across the country from demanding immediate success.

That's what the transfer portal was meant to do, right? To transform rosters year-over-year in search of lightning in a bottle.

But, it wasn't suppose to be Indiana reaping the benefits.

It wasn't suppose to be Ole Miss, with a first-time coach, getting to the national semifinals.

It wasn't suppose to be SMU and Rhett Lashlee making the playoffs after a full recovery from the death penalty.

Arizona State wasn't meant to be one score from a semifinals berth against the Texas Longhorns last year either. But the Sun Devils did just that one season after going 3-9.

There's a lot of talk about culture this, culture that, and if it actually means something in sports. Of course it does, and teams aren't going to be able to achieve what Indiana just did without it.

Arkansas' program reset

Arkansas brings in new coach Ryan Silverfield, who hopes to mend a few fences after 16 seasons of irrelevance since going 21-5 over two seasons from 2010-11.

Whether its changing the light bulbs out in every room of the football offices, flipping recruits or building a competitive roster out of the portal, Silverfield is doing so with the intention of winning in mind.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Ryan Silverfield during his introduction at a public celebration in the Walker Indoor Pavilion. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

"The culture to build, you have to build that every single day, and that's what it's going to start with [at Arkansas]," Silverfield said at his introductory press conference. "And [we're] gonna have to piece the pieces together. I can tell you this, we're going to be the best in the country at what we can control. And that's the attitude, effort, and approach, every single day.

"We're going to be the absolute best in the country, but that's something we got to work to build. There's going to be some people that are currently on the roster that are going to be back that are going may take a little bit more pressing. But these freshmen, we're going to bring in, we're going to have to develop them. We're already starting to see a movement in how these guys are believing and what they want, and their positive mindsets."

Silverfield inherited a successful program at Memphis following a stretch under Justin Fuente and Mike Norvell when the Tigers went 57-23 from 2012-19. Norvell's tenure was capped with a Cotton Bowl appearance and No. 17 finish in the final College Football Playoff ranking.

The Tigers didn't set the world on fire moving forward from 2020-22 in an unstable landscape where everything surrounding Silverfield changed.

He didn't resist, but embraced the changes such as NIL and transfer portal to end up competing for a spot in the College Football Playoffs this year as a Group of Five representative.

Although things fell flat toward the end of Memphis' 2025 season, he moved on to Arkansas after going 29-9 over his final three seasons in Memphis that included victories over Tulane in the 2024 regular season finale and bowl win over West Virginia to go 11-2.

The biggest question for any new coach is can they figure out how to win a national championship quickly? Silverfield pledged to have a great recruiting class, and did just that by flipping commitments of several in-state recruits.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Ryan Silverfield in first day on the job at the Smith Center in Fayetteville, Ark. | Arkansas Communications

He did the same thing through the transfer portal by flipping Arkansas' roster with the No. 10 portal class nationally, according to On3.

This is meant to be a complete program reset for the Razorbacks and expectations were raised considerably around the country thanks to Indiana. Because if a national title can be won at college football's losingest program, it can be done elsewhere.

That reality now follows every new hire into the building, compressing timelines and shrinking margins in a sport that no longer waits.

Sorry coaches, your jobs just got a tad bit harder.