From Quote Machine to CFP Contender: Curt Cignetti’s Indiana Revolution

Curt Cignetti was a quote machine in his first season as Indiana's head coach. 

During his first couple of months on the job, Cignetti dropped hits like, "I win. Google me," and "I've never taken a backseat to anybody and don't plan on starting now. Purdue sucks, but so does Michigan and Ohio State."

Now in the middle of his second season at Indiana, Cignetti admits that some of the forceful comments he made were perhaps a little too much. However, the Indiana head coach also explained on "The Joel Klatt Show" that he felt he had to do some projecting in order to instill life into the program. 

"I was kind of out there last year," Cignetti said. "From Day 1, when I got the job here, there were a lot of things that rubbed me the wrong way. The vibe I was getting — just the general attitude toward football — I felt like I had to shake things up a bit.

"I made some comments that, let’s face it, were a little out of character for me. But I thought that’s what this program needed: someone to carry the flag, lead the charge, set the vision — and not be afraid of the big boys."

Cignetti’s approach clearly worked. The Hoosiers went 11-2 last season and reached the College Football Playoff, capping one of the most remarkable single-season turnarounds in college football history.

While Cignetti expressed some discomfort with his past comments, Joel Klatt commended his approach, saying that it "provided a tremendous amount of energy" to the program and gave the players confidence because "their coach believed that they could go out and do it at the highest level."

Cignetti believed that some of those comments might have been part of the reason why Indiana was overlooked entering the season. 

"Last year we were kind of like the