Curt Cignetti reveals biggest takeaway from time with Nick Saban

The Indiana Hoosiers appear to be a team of destiny going into the College Football Playoff championship game against the Miami Hurricanes on Monday, January 19.

In what has been one of the most surprising runs in the history of the sport, Indiana is 15-0 and won the Big Ten Championship for the first time in nearly 60 years. The Hoosiers are the only team in the 12-team CFP era to advance after having a BYE in the first round, outscoring Alabama and Oregon by a combined 94-25.

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Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti is close to doing what looked impossible in this age of the transfer portal and NIL. The Hoosiers don't have as many four or five-star recruits as other programs or meet the blue-chip ratio, but they just win games.

Cignetti has had an unprecedented journey throughout his coaching career. After working under Nick Saban for four years at Alabama and winning a national championship in 2009, Cignetti departed from the Crimson Tide to become a head coach for the first time. He moved down to the D2 level to coach the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

The 64-year-old followed that with a short stint at Elon before breaking out at James Madison. Cignetti went 52-9 with the Dukes, leading the program during its transition from the FCS to FBS before ultimately making his way to Bloomington.

While plenty of Saban's former assistants have gone on to have successful careers, Cignetti is truly living a dream. He credits those along the way for helping him reach the present moment, including, arguably, the greatest college football coach of all time.

Curt Cignetti Shares What He Learned From Nick Saban

Saban hired Cignetti on his inaugural staff at Alabama in 2007. Though the Crimson Tide's dynasty run didn't truly begin until after Cignetti's departure, he did make an impact, even coaching former star wide receiver Julio Jones, who went on to be a top-10 pick and spent over a decade in the NFL.

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During an appearance on the 'Next Up with Adam Breneman' show, Cignetti shared some of the most important things he learned from Saban, even if he didn't mention him by name.

"The guy down in Tuscaloosa used to say 'normal equals average.' You've got to do some special things to be great," Cignetti said.

Cignetti broke it down to sacrifice and pushing through tough times. The very best are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve success.

"There's certain levels in life if you want to attain professional success, where you've got to make a commitment and a sacrifice," Cignetti said. "All of us face adversity every single day."

"Part of being successful is overcoming obstacles, persevering, overcoming adversity, learning from failure, coming back stronger from failure, and not being affected by success," Cignetti added. "Staying humble and hungry every single day. And high achievers and strivers understand that, and that's why they get to that point."

Over the last two seasons, Cignetti has guided Indiana to a 26-2 record, more victories than the five previous years combined.

Cignetti and the Hoosiers have an opportunity to reach the pinnacle of the sport with one more riveting performance.

Indiana and Miami will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on January 19. The contest will be nationally televised on ESPN.

Curt Cignetti Shares What He Learned From Nick Saban

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