Why Indiana Football is a 'Better Team This Year' to Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti's relationship with Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz dates back to over 40 years ago. Their coaching origin stories bare the same beginning, serving as graduate assistants at Pitt in the early 1980s.

Yet they've never coached against each other. Cignetti has never so much as been to Iowa's Kinnick Stadium.

That changes at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, when the Hawkeyes (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) host the No. 11 Hoosiers (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City.

Cignetti anticipates a tougher test from Ferentz and the Hawkeyes than the Hoosiers faced in Week 4 against Illinois, which entered the contest ranked No. 9 nationally. Part of Cignetti's belief stems from his views of Ferentz, the winningest coach in Big Ten history.

"Got a lot of respect for Coach Ferentz," Cignetti said. "Everything he's accomplished throughout his career as a head coach and as an assistant, too. He was a great line coach before he became a head coach. Met him a couple of times out and around (at Pitt). Got to know him during the Big Ten meetings."

Respect goes both ways.

When he was asked whether he's seen a program turnaround like Indiana's under Cignetti, Ferentz said he'd have to think long and hard. Part of it, he said, is the new era of college football, marked by roster fluidity and a seemingly revolving door of players entering and exiting the facility each year.

But a majority of credit belongs to Cignetti and his coaches, who brought 13 players with them from James Madison University and took Indiana from a 3-9 record in 2023 to an 11-2 mark in 2024.

And Ferentz thinks the Hoosiers are still ascending.

"Coach Cignetti has come in and done a great job," Ferentz said. "Really upgraded their personnel last year, and beyond that, they're really well-coached. You didn't see a game where they didn't play hard and look like a really good football team.

"From my vantage point, I think they're a better football team this year. They've upgraded even more with their personnel, done a good job with the transfer portal, and also developing the guys that they have on their roster."

Iowa didn't face Indiana during its return to national relevancy last season, but Ferentz noticed the Hoosiers' rise during exchange tapes when he'd be preparing for the Hawkeyes' next opponents.

During Iowa's Week 5 bye last season, Ferentz remembers watching part of Indiana's 42-28 win over Maryland. He saw enough to look up receiver Elijah Sarratt, who caught seven passes for 128 yards and one touchdown.

Ferentz realized Sarratt, like many of Indiana's top performers last season, transferred from James Madison. The same applies, he inferred, to linebacker Aiden Fisher, defensive tackle Tyrique Tucker, edge rusher Mikail Kamara and several others.

Between the James Madison transfers who followed Cignetti and others like Ohio University transfer quarterback Kurtis Rourke, the Hoosiers had a quality group of veteran players to help set the foundation, Ferentz said. Coaches have more options available to them now than in years past, which eased Cignetti's rebuild, if only slightly.

But it's also not lost on Ferentz that Indiana took transfers from more schools than James Madison. Cignetti rebuilt his roster with players from across the country, many of whom attended non-Power Four schools, and reloaded again this year.

To Ferentz, the Hoosiers are a lesson about recruiting: Everyone worries about it, but Cignetti's James Madison transfers weren't heavily pursued by Power Four schools, and now they're playing high-level football at a highly-ranked program.

"It's really impressive," Ferentz said. "One of my curiosities is, when you make big roster changes, how do you get guys to play cohesively? They've done that. They did it last year and they're doing it right now, too, with a lot of new players again. That's really impressive. That's good coaching.

"They clearly have a vision of what they want to be, and it looks like it's working really well for them."

Ferentz added Cignetti and his assistants — several of whom came with him from James Madison — have an identity in mind, and the Hoosiers are embodying it.

When Ferentz turned on the game film after Indiana's 63-10 win over Illinois on Sept. 20, he didn't see any flaws. As he progressed from the Hoosiers' 27-14 win over Old Dominion in Week 1, 56-9 thumping of Kennesaw State in Week 2 and 73-0 demolition of Indiana State in Week 3, he still couldn't find many weaknesses.

"They're playing at a high level right now," Ferentz said. "Every game they've been in, they've been winning very decisively. Just extremely impressed. A big challenge for us there."

Amid split external opinions for the second consecutive season, Ferentz said Indiana, ranked No. 11 nationally, is "worthy of its ranking." After beating Illinois, several Hoosiers said they felt they should be ranked in the top 10, but an eight-spot jump in the Associated Press poll marked progress, nonetheless.

Ferentz touted Indiana's personnel. Redshirt junior quarterback Fernando Mendoza, currently the betting favorite for the Heisman Trophy, "might be the best quarterback in the country," said Ferentz, who added he'd vote for Mendoza if he had a say in the Heisman race.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Mendoza completed his final 17 attempts against Illinois to finish 21-for-23 passing for 267 yards and five touchdowns. He earned co-Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts.

"He looks really good," Ferentz said about Mendoza. "He gets the ball out extremely quick. It's going to be tough to even get a hand on him, and he'll run it. But when he runs it, they have designed runs for him and then they also have — he'll flush it out, but he's looking down, he'll look to maybe throw on the run, which is tough to defend."

The Hoosiers' offense enters Week 5 ranked No. 2 nationally in total offense (588.5 yards per game) and No. 3 in rushing (308.8 yards per game). Mendoza leads the FBS with 14 passing touchdowns. Sarratt and fellow receiver Omar Cooper Jr. are tied for second nationally with five touchdown grabs apiece. Ferentz said Indiana's offensive line is big and physical.

"It's hard to find a weakness," Ferentz said. "It really is. I'm not saying it's like playing Ohio State, but there's some similarities in my mind if you look at their offense. ... Those three receivers as a group -- they're all really good individually, but as a group, it kind of takes you back to Ohio State, where pick your poison. They had two first-rounders and another guy is pretty good."

Defensively, the Hoosiers are No. 3 in yards allowed per game (205.8) and No. 5 in scoring, giving up just 8.3 yards per contest. They're aggressive, Ferentz said, and skilled at playing with a lead, an opportunity their offense often allows.

Indiana's special teams poses a challenge, too. The Hoosiers' first touchdown against Illinois came on a blocked punt scoop-and-score from All-American corner D'Angelo Ponds, another James Madison transfer. Nine of Brendan Franke's 10 kickoffs were touchbacks. Kicker Nico Radicic made all nine extra points. Punt returner Jonathan Brady logged a 27-yard return.

The Hoosiers enter Iowa City as a three-phase buzzsaw.

"Other than that, there's no problem," Ferentz said, laughing.

Indiana expects a loud environment Saturday at Kinnick Stadium. The game serves as Iowa's Homecoming, and the Hawkeyes are riding momentum after a 38-28 win over Rutgers on Sept. 19. The Hoosiers haven't played away from Memorial Stadium this season. No flights, no visiting locker room side effects and little crowd noise on offense.

The Hawkeyes present plenty of problems, too, from their big, experienced offensive line to their rugged defense. Iowa's offense has changed with South Dakota State transfer Mark Gronowski under center. It features more quarterback runs and is, by and large, more modernized.

Saturday is a clash of cultures — two teams who pride themselves on being more physical and winning the line of scrimmage.

It's also a matchup between two coaches more similar than one may think. Ferentz, laughing, conceded he's six years older than Cignetti. Both have roots dug into Pittsburgh — Cignetti because he's from the area and later coached there, and Ferentz from his time as an assistant and because he and his wife have family in the city.

Cignetti and Ferentz are old-school coaches in an ever-changing game — and they're winning. One has to lose Saturday. But no matter who wins, they'll do so behind the same intangibles buried deep in the Steel City.

Then, they'll trot to midfield and do a post-game handshake 40-plus years in the making.