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Colin Cowherd thinks Curt Cignetti got too much of the credit for Indiana’s national championship, and he says the Hoosiers’ recent offense is evidence of it.
On Wednesday’s episode of “The Herd,” Cowherd said the quarterback who led that title run, Fernando Mendoza, who is now the starter for the Las Vegas Raiders, deserved at least half of it.
Cowherd’s comments come as the defending champions prepare to host No. 18 USC on Saturday. Indiana fell five spots to No. 9 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings during its bye week.
“Under Curt Cignetti, the offense is a BB gun without Fernando Mendoza,” Cowherd said. “He’s a really, really good coach. But he’s not [Nick] Saban.”
Cowherd began by saying he works for a company with a stake in the Big Ten, and that he loves the Cignetti story.
“I think the Curt Cignetti story is awesome. I think it’s been a little overplayed,” Cowherd said. “I thought he got about 90% of the credit for their national championship, and I think Mendoza deserved at least half of it.”
He pointed to Cignetti’s 35-3 record since taking over at Indiana. But he added Indiana is different from the Alabama teams Nick Saban built.
“His record is otherworldly. It’s 35-3 as he took over a bad program,” Cowherd said. “He’s a really, really good coach, but he’s not Saban. Saban, both sides of the ball. Players became irrelevant at Alabama. Offense, defense, you couldn’t separate them. They were great at both. That’s not what Indiana is. Indiana, he sets a very high floor foundationally and culturally. Mendoza was the ceiling.”
Cowherd pointed to Indiana’s record against ranked opponents with and without Mendoza.
“If you look at Indiana against ranked opponents under Curt Cignetti, when Mendoza played, they averaged 38 a game and win by three touchdowns,” Cowherd said. “Without Mendoza, including this year, they’re 0-3 and they score 15 points. Mendoza against ranked teams is 6-0 and dropping 38.”
He also questioned Cignetti’s offensive philosophy and the 16-0 team.
“Cignetti is super conservative. Nick Saban was not offensively. He’s not the recruiter of Saban,” Cowherd said. “I think he’s a very, very good coach, but he got an incredible amount of the love on that 16-0 team that could have easily lost five games if Mendoza wasn’t the quarterback.”
Cowherd said that isn’t a knock on Cignetti, and he doesn’t think Mendoza will be Peyton Manning, but he did say he wouldn’t be surprised if USC wins Saturday.
“I would not be shocked if they lost to USC. I really wouldn’t. They’re both off a bye. I wouldn’t be shocked,” Cowherd said. “I think USC’s got much more firepower offensively.”
When asked about Indiana dropping in the rankings, Cowherd named three teams he thinks can win the national title this season.
“I don’t spend a lot of time on where these are ranked,” Cowherd said. “I think Georgia, Notre Dame, Miami are the only three teams that can win a national championship.”
