A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Indiana University sports fans are experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime season, and it's not for the sport you might think. The university men's basketball program has won five national titles, but this year, it's being overshadowed by the football team, which is undefeated and won their first outright Big Ten title since 1945. And this success seems like it's happened overnight. Here to talk about the program's rise, we've called up Michael Niziolek. He covers Indiana University sports for the Bloomington Herald-Times. So, Michael, is the Hoosier state's flagship campus now a football school?
MICHAEL NIZIOLEK: (Laughter) It's getting there. If Curt Cignetti has his way, it will be in maybe a couple of weeks, right (laughter)? He's trying his hardest. And, you know, he's made promises and cashed all the checks he's kind of laid out there. And this Big Ten title was certainly a huge one.
MARTÍNEZ: And Cignetti, that's the coach. And he's really the one responsible for this big change. How was he able to do this?
NIZIOLEK: Yeah, well, he's also kind of the GM - right? - or like the talent evaluator. In this age of college football with the transfer portal, he's brought in all the right guys. And he does that, too, with the coaching staff. He's got a lot of guys that have been with him going back years, including defensive coordinator Bryant Haines and offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan. Those are the guys he trusts. It all works together. There's a lot of synergy. And then obviously the quarterback - he's a quarterback guy. Going back, he was a quarterback's coach. He has that eye for talent. Bought in Kurtis Rourke last year, who had success, and now Fernando Mendoza. And it all has kind of gone together.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah, Fernando Mendoza is probably one of the leading candidates for the Heisman Trophy. He had a couple of seasons at Cal, at Berkeley. But what's making him so good this year?
NIZIOLEK: Well, it's development, right? And last year at Cal, he didn't have an offensive line. He was sacked, I think, 40 times, which was tied for the most in the country. He was on the run. You know, Indiana has put talent around him. And then with Cignetti, Shanahan, they've all kind of brought them into their system, got him comfortable, got him reading the defense. And he's got NFL arm talent. They've just put the system around him to unlock that.
MARTÍNEZ: Tell us what the atmosphere on game days is like in Bloomington. I mean, how has it changed? It had to be completely different even a few years ago.
NIZIOLEK: Well, absolutely. The stat I like to use is, since like 1970, when they expanded Memorial Stadium, they've only had 18 sellouts. Eight of them have been in the last two years during Cignetti's tenure. It's completely transformed. He's bought in, you know, he's got the students to buy in. And he challenged. He didn't like what was happening here. Five weeks into the season last year, he told fans they got to show up, they got to be loud, and they got to start staying for the entire game. And they listened. They took it seriously.
MARTÍNEZ: (Laughter).
NIZIOLEK: And he's made an atmosphere, made Memorial Stadium a hard place to play. He hasn't lost there yet. They have the longest active home winning streak in the country.
MARTÍNEZ: Staying for the entire game. I'm from LA, Michael.
NIZIOLEK: (Laughter).
MARTÍNEZ: LA sports fans don't do that. We got to go to dinner.
NIZIOLEK: (Laughter) Well, they would if he was the coach.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
NIZIOLEK: He'd yell at them (laughter).
MARTÍNEZ: There you go, there you go. All right, so they're the No. 1 seed, which means they have a bye in the first round. So they're awaiting the winner of Alabama and Oklahoma. Do you think they have what it takes to at least get past one of those two schools when they play in the college football playoff?
NIZIOLEK: Yeah, absolutely. I think they'll, you know, be favored in, you know, any game leading up to the title. I think there could be a rematch in the title game against Ohio State. I think they're in a really good spot. I think people saw in that Big Ten title game. You know, Ohio State was being talked about having the best defense in the country, having this offensive talent. Indiana matched them everywhere on the field. I don't see them being an underdog. I think they're going to be a heavy favorite in that quarter finals game, whoever their opponent is.
MARTÍNEZ: You know, my colleague Steve Inskeep is from Indiana. He didn't go to Indiana University, but I'm sure he's rooting for them in the college football playoffs. Michael Niziolek covers Indiana University sports for the Bloomington Herald-Times. Michael, thanks.
NIZIOLEK: Absolutely.
(SOUNDBITE OF RICHARD HAYMAN AND PHILHARMONIC ROCK ORCHESTRA'S "INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (INDIANA JONES THEME)") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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