FOX Sports college football analyst Matt Leinart just dropped a bombshell, making his pick ahead of Saturday’s top-five showdown between Ohio State and Indiana. He picked Curt Cignetti to win, despite acknowledging Ryan Day is “one of the best coaches in all of college football” and has a national championship under his belt. Leinart’s reason? Cignetti’s track record at Indiana is just too insane to ignore.
Curt Cignetti’s Hoosier Revolution Is Unstoppable
Leinart’s bold take comes down to one thing: what Cignetti has done in Bloomington. Since taking over the Indiana program, they are the winningest team in college football, sporting an absolutely bonkers 33-2 record. You read that right: 33 wins and only 2 losses. This dude is a back-to-back National Coach of the Year, has made the playoffs in both seasons he has been there, and is clearly on his way to a third straight appearance. It gets even better, he has won six straight games against top-10 opponents, including an absolute stunner over Ohio State in last year’s Big Ten Championship Game.
Remember Indiana football? Before Cignetti arrived in 2024, they were literally the worst program in college football history, losing 27 of their previous 36 games. Cignetti came in after stops at IUP, Elon, and James Madison, and flipped the script immediately. An 11-2 season in 2024 saw them crash the College Football Playoff. Then, in 2025, they took it to another level, going 16-0 and beating Ohio State again in the Big Ten Championship Game to claim their first national title ever. Cignetti himself said it best, and Leinart quoted him: “All he does is win. You can google him.” It’s hard to argue with results like that.
Ohio State’s Dominance Meets Indiana’s Surge
Now, don’t get it twisted, Ryan Day is no slouch. Since becoming Ohio State’s head coach in 2019, he has an incredible 84-13 record and won a national championship in 2024. But Leinart’s pick highlights the sheer, unprecedented success Cignetti has achieved, especially considering where Indiana started. The Buckeyes did beat the Hoosiers 38-15 in Columbus in 2024, snapping Indiana’s 10-game winning streak, proving they can be beaten.
This Saturday’s game is set to be an absolute slugfest between two Big Ten titans. Ohio State leads the conference in total offense (503.5 yards per game) and scoring (42.7 points per game). Their defense is no joke either, ranking second in total defense (246.8 yards allowed per game) and scoring defense (13.2 points allowed per game). Indiana isn’t far behind, ranking second in total offense (462.7 yards per game) and third in scoring (40.2 points per game). But their defense is where they really shine, boasting the conference’s top scoring defense (allowing only 11.8 points per game) and ranking third in total defense (263.5 yards allowed per game). This is two incredibly complete teams going at it.
This weekend, everyone will be watching to see if Cignetti can continue his unbelievable run and if Leinart’s gutsy call pays off. It’s a top-five showdown on FOX, and the stakes could not be higher for bragging rights in the Big Ten. Can the Hoosiers prove they are more than a flash in the pan, or will Day’s Buckeyes remind everyone who’s been at the top for longer?
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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