The only reasonable, logical explanation to Indiana University’s success in football is not coaching, but cheating.
How else to explain a team that for more than 100 years existed just to lose is 15-0 in its second season under head coach Curt Cignetti, and an 8.5-point favorite to win the national title game against Miami in the Canes’ home stadium?
Cinderella has nothing on the Hoosiers.
“Well, I think that’s a fact,” Cignetti said on a conference call with reporters Monday afternoon. “If you look at the record since Indiana started playing football and relative to the success we’ve had the last two years, we’ve broken a lot of records here in terms of wins, championships, postseason games, top-10 wins on the road, et cetera, top-10 wins, period.
“So it’s been kind of surreal.”
Almost too surreal. Too unbelievable.
Thanks to technology, scientific advances, and human behaviors, increasingly we have seen these fables show deep flaws, or revealed as frauds. Lance Armstrong’s Tour de France titles were fueled by a syringe. Barry Bonds breaking baseball’s career home run record was boosted with “clear.” The New England Patriots’ dynasty was tainted thanks to a “spy.” The Houston Astros had cameras and a garbage can to help win a World Series.
As the Hoosiers defeated then-No. 1 Ohio State to win the Big Ten title, neutered Alabama in the Rose Bowl, and gelded Oregon in the Peach Bowl, the common allegation is that IU is good, and really good at cheating.
No. 1 Indiana plays No. 10 Miami on Jan. 19 in Miami for the national title.
Questioning Indiana’s football success as ‘legit’
The relationship between paranoia, technology and conspiracy theories is the ménage à trois that now is not only G-rated but unavoidable from politics to sports.
One of the more entertaining theories to explain Indiana’s success is that a Hoosiers staffer hacked a cloud to steal the opponent’s game plans. AI is supposedly involved in this scheme to help record another team’s practices without the use of a camera operator.
Since no one knows how “the cloud” actually works, this sounds believable; with minimal effort and no training, your teenager can probably access someone’s iPhone camera. This theory would explain how a roster loaded with no-star recruits wins by an average margin of 31.6 points per game.
It should be noted that no one of note has provided any evidence of Indiana doing anything wrong. This is how college sports works; any team that goes “worst to first,” or has any sustained success, must be skirting the rules.
The Hoosiers are probably cheating. The same for Miami. Miami of Ohio. Ohio State. Minnesota. Maryland. Missouri. Montana. Montana State. Washington. Washington State. Cal. Cal Tech. Cal-Davis. Texas. Texas A&M. Texas Tech. Texas Christian. Oklahoma. Oklahoma State. Florida. Florida State. Florida Atlantic.
(Just not Auburn. Auburn looks clean.)
The head coach of The U, Miami’s Mario Cristobal, doesn’t see Indiana as Cheater U.
“They’re the best overall team and best defense we have faced,” Cristobal said Monday. “It starts with this: They’re really fast, physical, explosive, talented and smart. They play with a lot of physicality, a lot of violence. They understand their scheme top to bottom.”
What is ‘cheating?’
Murder, kidnapping and probably counterfeiting are all still against the rules in college football. The rest is a gray area.
Amid the radical changes in NCAA sports, does anyone know what qualifies as cheating anymore in major college football? We know Michigan under Jim Harbaugh did cheat. Whether it was sign stealing or illegal recruiting, Michigan violated NCAA rules.
The NCAA’s penalties on Michigan’s infractions under Harbaugh essentially amounted to an enormous fine, as the Wolverines retained their 2023 national title, which was the primary goal.
They played in the title game, where they defeated Washington. The players celebrated on the field. There was a parade. Michigan printed and sold the 2023 national champions T-shirts, hats and coffee mugs. The players and staffers received national championship rings.
The national reaction to the NCAA’s punishment of the Wolverines ranged from yawn to yaaaaaaaaaawn, and “What time is the next game?”
According to Google’s AI, cheating in college football is the following: “Breaking NCAA rules for an unfair advantage, ranging from impermissible scouting and recruiting inducements (like paying players).”
As you can see, AI can be wrong.
The definition continues, “Academic fraud (fake classes, tutors doing work), to improper conduct by coaches and staff, and even issues like signal stealing or using ineligible players, all aimed at manipulating game outcomes or recruiting.
“Violations lead to severe NCAA penalties, including vacated wins, bowl bans, and suspensions.”
If you are in the camp of disbelief that insists there is no way Indiana can achieve its success without cheating, you aren’t alone. They are everywhere, from State College, Pennsylvania, to Ann Arbor, Michigan, West Lafayette, Indiana, Columbus, Ohio, and now Eugene and down to Tuscaloosa, too.
Given its history and tradition, Indiana’s success is unbelievable, surreal, and a product of an era that has reshaped both college sports, and cheating, too.
Mac Engel
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