A win for the ages
by GEORGE SOMERVILLE (our man in Miami)
Sometimes it takes a period of reflection to realise just what you have witnessed.
College football, for all its trials and tribulations – for which there have been many this season, with the promise of more to come – needed a feel-good story and a blockbuster end to its season. It got both.
Hoosiers for the win
As I write this, one week ago I was on the field as the Indiana Hoosiers won their first National Championship title in their 138-year history. The Hoosiers, beleaguered and battered from 761 losses throughout their long history, were transformed under Curtis Frank Cignetti after he left James Madison University to travel to Bloomington, Indiana.
But let’s not be misled that this is some sort of fairytale, although Hoosiers fans might think they are living one. Indiana is not the plucky upstart we have been rooting for as they stumble through the season on some wave of good fortune and twists of fate. The Hoosiers are not the Mighty Ducks, or even err..The Hoosiers. No, Indiana has rolled over everyone in its path this year, ending the season unbeaten at 16-0, with folks asking, “Is this the greatest football team college football has ever seen?”
Which makes the history made last Monday in Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, all the more sensational.
Shock and Awe(some)
One of the true privileges and highlights of being in the press box is getting down to the sidelines for the final few moments of the game. If you’ve not yet seen my video of Jamari Sharpe’s interception of Carson Beck’s pass to effectively seal Indiana’s first national Championship, I’ll post it below. But with the Indiana sideline going wild and the offense soon to take a knee to secure victory, it gave me the opportunity to look the other way. Into the stands to look into the faces of the Hoosiers’ fans.
almost unbelievable
It was a mix of shock, surprise and elation. Forget that this team was 15-0 and had beaten everyone in their path. When a team has a historical habit of defeats, the fans are accepting, even expecting, that something is going to happen to ruin the dream. The fact that Indiana had humbled Alabama in the Rose Bowl and humiliated Oregon in the Peach Bowl seemed largely irrelevant at that moment in time. The superiority complex that other schools hold in abundance was nowhere to be seen in the fans who had travelled 1,200 miles from Bloomington to Miami. While the Hoosiers wanted to win, needed to win, their fans also had that cautionary “well, maybe it is too good to be true” doubt nagging in their heads.
Even Head Coach “Google me, I win” Cignetti had a look of wonder and amazement as he embraced his family on the field after the game. It was a moment of pure joy.
don’t panic!
But Indiana fans needn’t have worried. Despite a cagey start where both teams’ offenses couldn’t get into a rhythm, once Indiana started to motor, they kept going. Yes, Miami fought back and showed true grit in recovering each time the Hoosiers landed a body blow. And yes, Carson Beck had hauled his teammates down the field in the final seconds of the game to give them a chance to grab the Natty in the final seconds. But it wasn’t enough. This Hoosiers’ team, which does its job, makes rare mistakes and operates like a machine, was just too strong for the Hurricanes to blow over. And the rest they say is history.
A New World Order
Indiana is the American dream. It’s the story that everyone wanted. I sat beside Connor O’Gara from Saturday Down South in the Hoosiers press conference after the game. Connor is an Indiana graduate and was beside himself that he had just witnessed his Hoosiers win a Championship. He asked Cignetti about having a beer after the game, and which beer? This moment has led to Cignetti’s endorsement deal with a local Indiana brewery. So too Chipotle, where seemingly the Hoosier’s Head Coach eats lunch every day. If you’re interested, it’s a Chipotle burrito bowl with rice & beans with a side of guacamole.
It’s a story that the American people can relate to. Not to knock Miami or Carson Beck, but this wasn’t a team full of players earning millions of dollars and driving around in Lamborghinis.
a new dawn
So, does this change the face of football forever? Well, it certainly marks a new chapter for the game we love. It gives hope to any other college football team out there which isn’t a blue blood. Much has been made of the average age of this Hoosiers team. But that’s the reality of modern-day college football. Student Athletes – if I can still call them that – will choose to stay longer in school because, financially, it makes sense. What the NFL will think of this “talent lag” is for another time. But teams will, by default, get older because of this. Maybe Indiana stole a march on everyone else.
The beautiful Game
During the post-game Champions press conference, Cignetti said that he would have a (local) beer, take Wednesday off and then get straight back to preparation for the new season. Often, Cignetti sounds like Saban, which should send shockwaves through college football.
There is plenty of time to talk about next season. Now is not that time. It’s the time to reflect on what was another excellent, thrilling and at times, a shocking college football season. The game is changing and changing fast. It will soon not be the game that we all fell in love with. That doesn’t mean that it won’t be any less exciting or chaotic. Give me Vanderbilt vs Rutgers in next year’s National Championship game!
So while the world loses its collective mind over combine results and endless mock drafts and eventually, almost inevitably why on earth the Dallas Cowboys ignore their next franchise superstar for a tailback from William and Mary the rest of us should do this…… Find some sunshine and sit back with a cold drink, with the sun on our face and reflect on a truly magnificent season of college football. And most of all, give thanks that we were born during a time that allows us to witness this wonderful era of the sport.
Footnote:
During the build-up to the Championship game itself, both Head Coaches came across incredibly well. Miami Head Coach, Mario Cristobal, who often comes across as direct and surly, was highly articulate, thoughtful in his responses and very happy to talk about his Cuban-American upbringing. I was hugely impressed.
Cignetti also comes across as a direct, no-nonsense guy. This remains true, however, as I found out: it’s dangerous to judge a book by the sound bites shown over and over on TV. Take his infamous “Google me, I win” quote.
During the National Championship Media Day, Cignetti talked about that moment. It came about through frustration. Cignetti told us that during his introductory press conference in Indiana, he was asked the same question, in his words, “fourteen times”. His “Google me” response came as a result. But as they say, there’s no such thing as bad press, and this has become Cignetti’s calling card.
But still, I warmed to Cignetti.
GEORGE SOMERVILLE
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WRITER
GEORGE IS A LONG STANDING FANATIC OF LIFE AND FOOTBALL IN THE DEEP SOUTH AND WRITES HIS WEEKLY COLUMN CALLED “IT’S ONLY SEC” FOR THE TOUCHDOWN. HE IS ALSO CO-HOST AND ONE THIRD OF THE COLLEGE CHAPS PODCAST, THE UK’S FIRST PODCAST DEDICATED TO THE COLLEGE GAME.