Sports
Indiana coach Curt Cignetti wanted 1 thing after historic victory over Oregon
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Curt Cignetti was not going to take Friday night’s College Football Playoff semifinal victory for granted.
For the first time in school history, the Indiana Hoosiers will be playing for a national title after walloping Oregon 56-22 in the Peach Bowl.
Eventually, the Hoosiers will sit down and watch film on No. 10 Miami, which has had quite the Cinderella run to take on the top-ranked, 15-0 Hoosiers.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Head coach Curt Cignetti of the Indiana Hoosiers hoists the George P. Crumbley Trophy after defeating the Oregon Ducks in the 2025 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Jan. 9, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
But Cignetti had one thing on his mind while the Hoosiers celebrated at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
ESPN’s Molly McGrath asked Cignetti when he’d “stop and appreciate how special and how historic all of this has been,” assuming Cignetti was already “thinking about the next game.”
Cignetti, though, corrected her.
“I’m not thinking about the next game. I’m thinking about cracking open a beer,” he admitted.
The Hoosiers became the fifth team in modern college football history to go 15-0. Now they can become the first team of the modern era to go 16-0 and only the second of all time, joining an 1894 Yale team that played with leather helmets.

Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti looks on before the 2025 Big Ten Championship Game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Lucas Oil Stadium on Dec. 6, 2025. (Robert Goddin/Imagn Images)
MIAMI COACH MARIO CRISTOBAL WRESTLES OUT OF HUG AFTER CARSON BECK’S TOUCHDOWN IN VIRAL MOMENT
Cignetti has left the college football world breathless with a dramatic turnaround of the Hoosiers program, going from one of the losingest teams in the Big Ten to potentially the most dominant single season of all time.
Following their undefeated regular season, the Hoosiers have only gained momentum in the CFP. After defeating Ohio State for the Big Ten championship, Indiana overwhelmed Alabama 38-3 in the Rose Bowl quarterfinal as Fernando Mendoza passed for 192 yards and three touchdowns.

Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti walks towards the sideline after a time out against Ohio State Buckeyes in the fourth quarter during the football game in Columbus on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Indiana will try to give the Big Ten its third straight national title, following Ohio State and Michigan the last two seasons. Few teams from any conference can compare with the Hoosiers’ season-long demonstration of balanced, strong play.
Fox News’ Jackson Thompson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Sports
Australian Open live: Tennis Australia under pressure to fix ‘worst fan experience’
MELBOURNE, Australia — Reigning Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner begins his quest for a third consecutive title Down Under on Day 3. Naomi Osaka, Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, and Madison Keys will also feature as the final first round matches are contested.
Eyes are also locked on the wait times and queues that have marred the first two days of main draw action, with fans voicing frustration about just how busy the precinct is. Some spectators were forced to wait in excess of two hours just to enter Melbourne Park on opening Sunday and Monday, then another hour to enter the show courts.
Stay tuned as ESPN’s team of reporters bring you all the latest news, results, match schedules, and more from Day 3 at the Australian Open.
Sports
Indiana’s Curt Cignetti complains about lack of calls against Miami during halftime of national title game
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti expressed some frustration with the officials in the college football national championship on Monday night.
Cignetti spoke to ESPN’s Holly Rowe and was frustrated with the lack of calls against the Miami Hurricanes for hits on Fernando Mendoza. The Heisman Trophy winner was left bloodied after one of the hits that were put on him.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti watches during warm ups before the College Football Playoff national championship game between Miami and Indiana, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo)
“There’s three personal fouls on the quarterback not called in one drive,” Cignetti said. “They need to be called because they’re obvious personal fouls. I’m all for letting them play, but when you cross the line, you gotta call it. They were black and white calls.”
Through the hits, Mendoza has hung in there and had Indiana up 10 points at halftime.
TRUMP ARRIVES AT INDIANA-MIAMI COLLEGE FOOTBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza looks to pass against Miami during the first half of the College Football Playoff national championship game, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Lynne Sladky/AP Photo)
He was 12-of-17 with 116 passing yards.
Indiana’s scoring began in the first quarter with a field goal. Then, with about 6:13 left in the second quarter, Mendoza led the Hoosiers down the field and handed the ball off to Riley Nowakowski to punch the ball in. The Hoosiers held a 10-0 lead at that point.

Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti speaks during news conference ahead of the College Football Playoff national championship game between Miami and Indiana, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Miami. The game will be played on Monday. (Chris Carlson/AP Photo)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The Hurricanes started to find a rhythm late in the first half. But Carter Davis’ field goal attempt went off the upright. The Hurricanes only had three first downs despite having the ball for nearly 12 minutes in the half.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Sports
Bengals’ Joe Burrow weighs in on controversial NFL playoffs moments: ‘It’s not the officials’
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Cincinnati Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow might not be in the playoffs, but he’s chiming in on some of the controversial plays in the postseason.
The catch-versus-no-catch debate involving Buffalo Bills wide receiver Brandin Cooks is still being talked about after the team’s Divisional Round loss to the Denver Broncos on Saturday night.
While many have given their take on the controversial play, the two remaining Divisional Round games on Sunday also had some debatable calls on catches.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Ja’quan McMillian of the Denver Broncos intercepts a pass intended for Brandin Cooks of the Buffalo Bills during overtime in the AFC Divisional Playoff game at Empower Field At Mile High on Jan. 17, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Burrow appeared to be on the side of the officials in all cases.
“The amount of ppl that don’t understand what a catch is in the rule book flabbergasts me. And it’s not the officials,” Burrow wrote on X. “The two plays yesterday were not difficult calls, and they got them both right.”
The play involving Cooks continues to be a pain point for football fans, let alone the city of Buffalo. If ruled a catch, Matt Prater might have walked it off with a field goal, and the Bills would be on to New England.
Instead, the play was ruled an interception by the Broncos, who eventually won the game and moved on to the AFC Championship Game.
As for the two plays Burrow references in his tweet, it’s unknown exactly what he’s talking about, but there was one play from each game on Sunday where debate ensued.
First, Houston Texans wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson fumbled, but the play was considered a catch after officials reviewed. Then, Los Angeles Rams star Davante Adams had a similar situation happen when his knee hit the turf, but he fumbled.
In both cases, the offense maintained control of the ball, though there were some who believed the Cooks play should’ve seen the same result.
NFL rules analyst Walt Anderson weighed in on the interception for the Broncos, saying that Ja’Quan McMillan did indeed pull the ball away from Cooks, who he believes never had complete control of it.
“Replay has all of these angles to take a look and see ‘was the ruling on the field wrong, or was the ruling on the field correct?’” Anderson said on NFL Network. “If you can confirm that the ruling on the field is correct, they really want to move the game along, and they don’t want to have unnecessary stoppages.”
Sean McDermott, who has since been fired from his role as Bills head coach, was irate over the process of how the call was confirmed. He wanted officials to take a long look at the play, leading to his timeout call.

Joe Burrow (9) of the Cincinnati Bengals plays against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field on Sept. 7, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“It would seem logical to me… that the head official would walk over and want to go and take a look at it, just to make sure that everybody from here who is in the stadium to there are on the same page. That’s too big of a play, in my estimation, and a play that decided the game potentially as well, to not even slow it down,” McDermott said.
“It’s hard for me to understand why it was ruled the way it was ruled. If it is ruled that way, then why wasn’t it slowed down just to make sure that we have this right? That would have made a lot of sense to me, to make sure that we have this thing right. Because that’s a pivotal play in the game. We have the ball at the 20, maybe kicking a game-winning field goal right there. So I’ll just leave it at that.”
Fox News’ Ryan Morik contributed to this report.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
-
Tech1 week agoNew Proposed Legislation Would Let Self-Driving Cars Operate in New York State
-
Entertainment7 days agoX (formerly Twitter) recovers after brief global outage affects thousands
-
Sports5 days agoPak-Australia T20 series tickets sale to begin tomorrow – SUCH TV
-
Fashion3 days agoBangladesh, Nepal agree to fast-track proposed PTA
-
Business4 days agoTrump’s proposed ban on buying single-family homes introduces uncertainty for family offices
-
Politics3 days agoSaudi King Salman leaves hospital after medical tests
-
Tech4 days agoMeta’s Layoffs Leave Supernatural Fitness Users in Mourning
-
Tech5 days agoTwo Thinking Machines Lab Cofounders Are Leaving to Rejoin OpenAI
