For Indiana recruits — who are living their absolute best lives this week — Curt Cignetti's accomplishment is hardly a surprise.

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who won the Heisman Trophy and led the No. 1 Hoosiers to their first national championship this past season, is forgoing his final college season and entering the NFL draft, he announced on social media Friday.

"He might be the best player I've ever coached that was with me throughout his entire career in terms of consistency, production," Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti said about D'Angelo Ponds.

When Indiana won a national championship, fans of lovable losers everywhere could cross the Rubicon from hope to belief.

Sailors aboard the submarine USS Indiana, which shares a name with the new football champions, snapped a celebratory picture.

Indiana brought in former TCU quarterback Josh Hoover in the transfer portal, which positioned Mendoza to be the backup once more in 2026. Mendoza and Indiana coach Curt Cignetti shared candid conversations about Mendoza's future in the aftermath of Hoover's commitment.

When Miami was putting together its shocking first national title under Howard Schnellenberger in 1983, Indiana was going 3-8. The Hoosiers would go 0-11 the next season. When Nebraska was wrapping up a second straight national title with an all-time great team in 1995,