<body><div>The last time Indiana football started a season 5-0, Lyndon B. Johnson was the President of the United States, "Bonnie and Clyde" debuted at the box office, Aretha Franklin's "Respect" climbed to No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, and Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti was just 6 years old.It's been over five decades since this kind of football success manifested in Bloomington, but the 2024 Indiana Hoosiers continue to push the bar higher and higher. With a convincing 42-28 victory over Maryland on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium, IU further proved that if you build it, they will come."We're 5-0 for the first time in 57 years," Cignetti said postgame. "I'm proud of the team and everything they've accomplished."Cignetti is probably the last person who's going to bask in his own glory, but as he walked off the field to a roar of cheers from a season-high 48,323 fans in attendance, even he couldn't help but crack a smile.The old-school disciplinarian, who runs a tight ship and has ever since he arrived last December, knows how much work it took to rebuild the Indiana program from its foundation. And while he's nowhere close to finished building, for just a brief moment, as he glanced around at the fans who stuck around all game through rainy and windy conditions, Cignetti allowed himself to soak it all in.It was a you-had-to-be-there moment. The kind of moment that doesn't come around very often when Cignetti is leading the way — and far less often for a fanbase whose team has been a bottom-dweller for decades upon decades. But on this afternoon, with overcast skies above and flags floating in every direction, it was as if everything seemed right in Bloomington.Cignetti, as is no surprise, is already thinking ahead to next week's game at Northwestern. He doesn't know any other way, and it's why success has followed him at every stop. But when asked to reflect on what he's turned Indiana into in less than a calendar year, a glimpse of his most vulnerable self appeared for a fleeting minute."I don't know what the old Indiana was other than what I watched on tape or maybe looked in a record book," Cignetti said. "We are what we are, and we have a blueprint and a plan and a philosophy how to play the game. It's all about people and processes. I think we've got a chance to be a good football team."All teams take on the personality of their head coach, or at least good teams do. And Indiana's personality this season has shown to be one one of pure focus and resiliency — two hallmarks of a Cignetti-led team that was clear from the moment he first stepped in the building at Memorial Stadium.Look no farther than Saturday afternoon.The Hoosiers didn't start their matchup against the Terrapins well by any measure. Quarterback Kurtis Rourke threw his first two interceptions of the season. It didn't matter. Indiana's defense flexed its muscles, gave the ball right back to the offense and never flinched.The ultimate result came in the form of victory, but it was the way the Hoosiers continuously responded to mistakes and misfortunes that perhaps stands high above the rest."Far from perfect, trust me," Cignetti said. "4-0 in the turnover ratio against us, had not turned it over going into the game one time and still won by two scores. But defense really responded to every one of those turnovers. There's a lot of corrections to make, but it was a good effort, a gutty effort."<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3r29y9_0vnQVo0g00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3r29y9_0vnQVo0g00" width="620" height="320" ><figcaption>Indiana coach Curt Cignetti walks off the field after IU's 42-28 win over Maryland at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind. The Hoosiers improved to 5-0 for the first time since 1967. (Photo: Peegs.com)</figcaption></figure>In an email sent Friday morning to Indiana's entire student body, Cignetti asked for their support. It wasn't athletic department marketing jargon. It wasn't a letter handed off to an intern or an assistant to pen in Cignetti's name. It was Cignetti himself, imploring the very backbone of Indiana's fanbase to show up early and stay late.Sure, you can say it shouldn't be the responsibility of a Big Ten head coach to put butts in seats, but to Cignetti it's all part of the job. At Indiana, it's going to take more work, time and energy. Cignetti knew it when he took the job — maybe not quite at the levels as he's since experienced — and he's shouldered that onus each step of the way.Cignetti doesn't cut corners, that much is clear. And if it means he has to directly reach out to the fan base to get them to games, then so be it.On Saturday afternoon, the Memorial Stadium crowd, which stayed en masse until the final whistle, rewarded Cignetti for his efforts."You could feel the fans out there," Cignetti said. "I'm glad that they keep improving in the attendance area. I thought that was a good turnout, and good is the enemy of great, so let's have a great turnout. Let's sell it out next time we're at home and figure out how to make it even louder because that's what we want to do. We want to be the best in everything we do."The time for celebrating accomplishments is still months away for Indiana. Seven games still remain, and you can bet Cignetti will not allow his locker room to become distracted by anything else in the meantime. A historic start, a program that's turning skeptics into believers with each win — it doesn't matter.Because just like every good football team does, Indiana has taken on the personality of their head coach. And Curt Cignetti believes that if you build it, they will come."We want to play every play like it's 0-0. Never too high, never too low," Cignetti said. "Something bad happens, OK, we're going to play this play. You get 11 guys playing that way consistently, then you've got a chance."</div></body>

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If you build it, they will come — and Curt Cignetti has built Indiana into its first 5-0 start since 1967

The last time Indiana football started a season 5-0, Lyndon B. Johnson was the President of the United States, \"Bonnie and Clyde\" debuted at the box office, Aretha Franklin's \"Respect\" climbed to No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, and Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti was just 6 years old.

The last time Indiana football started a season 5-0, Lyndon B. Johnson was the President of the United States, "Bonnie and Clyde" debuted at the box office, Aretha Franklin's "Respect" climbed to No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, and Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti was just 6 years old.

If you build it, they will come — and Curt Cignetti has built Indiana into its first 5-0 start since 1967

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