Alabama Football News

What Cignetti told Indiana he wanted the Hoosiers to do to Alabama before Rose Bowl

by
Justin Smith
May 4, 2026

Nov 9, 2024; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti reacts in the second half against the Michigan Wolverines at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Indiana’s head football coach Curt Cignetti wanted to send a statement in the Rose Bowl against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Cignetti was once a member of the Alabama coaching staff, and he has been known to use everything as motivation to obtain an edge. He appeared to have had motivation to beat the Crimson Tide in the Rose Bowl, and he let his team know.

“In the game day meeting at the hotel, he was like, I don’t want to do any trick plays, weird stuff,” Indiana’s former Director of Athletic Performance Derek Owings said, per The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel. “I want to line up and beat the s—t out of them. In the second half, we started bullying those guys, and when Bama had given up, it was, I don’t really want to pass anymore. I want to run it down their throat and make a statement.”

The Hoosiers went on to beat Alabama 38-3 in the Rose Bowl en route to winning the National Championship.

The Crimson Tide’s season ended with the defeat as Alabama finished the season 10-3.

Justin Smith( Managing Editor, Director of Recruiting )

Justin Smith is the Managing Editor and Lead Writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine with over 10 years of writing experience & expertise. Smith has consistently delivered high quality, extensively researched information on the University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide football team that fans can trust. Smith is official credentialed media with the University of Alabama under Touchdown Alabama Magazine. He is also the Director of Recruiting for Touchdown Enterprises, specializing in scouting and analyzing high school recruits around the nation, specifically focusing on recruits within the state of Alabama.