Curt Cignetti and IU players react to hosting College GameDay
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) — College GameDay came to Bloomington on a Saturday for the first time in the history of the show, and it certainly did not disappoint.
Students were lined up as early as 1 p.m. on Friday afternoon, waiting for the games to open at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday to get a good spot for the pregame show.
Lee Corso returned to Bloomington and had it recognized as Lee Corso Day in Bloomington by the mayor.
And, the Hoosiers won the game as well, never trailing in a 31-17 victory against Washington.
“That’s a great thing to have at your university,” Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti said. “The exposure, and all that stuff, but it’s really easy for your team to lose their focus on what they’re there for… and we overcame it, and we won, so it was good today.”
Cignetti talked to the team about it on Monday, but he said they didn’t dwell on it after that.
Indiana center Mike Katic is in his sixth season with the Hoosiers. He has seen the ups and downs of the program, but has been a key piece in Indiana’s turnaround that brought GameDay to Bloomington.
“It all starts up top with Coach Cig and his winning mindset that he brings and his moxy and his swagger that he has,” Katic said. “And I think it trickles all the way down to the players and I think we have understood that and taken it with a chip on our shoulder every week.”
Indiana running back Justice Ellison said that it’s more just for the fans. Their focus was just on the football game.
Ellison was right. The fans certainly enjoyed the experience.
“It’s awesome. The excitement is phenomenal. You can just feel the electricity with the new coaching staff, new players, new mindset, it’s just awesome,” Rick Thompson, a 1993 IU graduate, said.
Thompson said that he still went to games when he was in school, but the focus was more on the tailgate.
Now, students are focused on the football team and excited for the games.
“I love the energy,” IU freshman Ali Aljallad said. “I love this team. We’re a football school now.”
“I never thought that gameday would be coming to our school,” Aljallad said. “Honestly, hopefully the come back in my next four years, but if this is a once in a lifetime thing, then I’m going to enjoy every single moment of it and I love everything about it.”
Indiana returns to the field on Saturday, November 9 at Michigan State.
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