Curt Cignetti Has Tom Allen To Thank For One Aspect Of Indiana Football Success

Former Indiana football coach Tom Allen gave a spot-on description when he hired offensive line coach Bob Bostad before the 2023 season.

"Many would say he is the best o-line coach in the country," Allen said back in December 2022.

Offensive line play was an issue during the 2022 season, as Indiana allowed the second-most sacks while rushing for the second-fewest yards in the Big Ten. That led to offensive line coach Darren Hiller's firing midway through the 2022 season.

The group improved a bit under Bostad's direction in 2023, allowing 13 fewer sacks, but it wasn't enough for Allen to keep his job. He was fired following the 2023 season, the end of a three-year stretch with a 9-27 record and just three Big Ten wins.

Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson then made the genius decision to hire James Madison's Curt Cignetti, who mostly cleaned house in Bloomington but not entirely. Cignetti overhauled the roster through the transfer portal and revamped the coaching staff with 10 new assistant coaches.

The lone holdover? Bostad, whose NFL coaching pedigree and development chops at Wisconsin made him worthy of keeping around. Cignetti had to clean up a lot of issues within a program that had been one of the worst in the Big Ten the previous three years, but already having Bostad on campus was a nice boost.

Bob Bostad Indiana Football — Indiana offensive line coach Bob Bostad instructs players during practice. | photo credit Andrew Mascharka, Indiana Athletics

"Bob's a really good football coach," Cignetti said last season. "He's a fundamentalist. He's tough. He's hard-nosed. His guys embody that. Kind of a blue-collar work ethic. He makes them tough and physical, and he coaches them that way every single day. And I see it show up on Saturday."

The offensive took another step forward during Bostad's second year in Bloomington. They allowed four fewer sacks than the previous season despite playing an additional game, and Indiana's run game went form 3.3 to 4.4 yards per carry while rushing for 24 more touchdowns.

Bostad has kept the group on an upward trajectory in 2025, as they're on pace to allow just 12 sacks compared to 18 during the 2024 regular season. The Hoosiers also lead the Big Ten with 5.6 yards per carry this year, though that figure is a bit inflated just six games into the season.

Not only was Cignetti smart to retain Bostad from Allen's previous staff, he identified a few key players to keep around, too. Starting offensive linemen Carter Smith, Drew Evans, Bray Lynch and Kahlil were all recruited to Indiana by Allen and played at least one season prior to the coaching change.

And on a national scale, Allen was right when he called Bostad one of the country's best. Because the 2025 Hoosiers' offensive line ranks second among Power Four teams with an 81.1 grade by Pro Football Focus. That trails only Iowa, who Indiana defeated 20-15 on the road.

Highest Graded Offensive Lines This Season💪 pic.twitter.com/LhXGB9OSLa
— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 17, 2025

The following week, Indiana faced a vaunted Oregon defensive line in Eugene, but the Hoosiers' offensive line allowed just one sack and fueled an offense that scored 30 points.

Cignetti has turned Indiana into a legitimate national title contender, and keeping Bostad on staff after Allen's firing is one of the many reasons why.

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