For the first 26 games of the Curt Cignetti era at Indiana, ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum couldn\u2019t get out of his own way.<\/p>\n
He gave bad take, after bad take, after bad take, including a comparison, when IU gave Cignetti a contract extension in October, to how Michigan State gave Mel Tucker a raise and a contract extension just before that program imploded.<\/p>\n
Well known for his SEC bias, Finebaum continued to embarrass himself by predicting an Alabama win over IU at the Rose Bowl.\u00a0 His takes became so nauseating, even nice guys like IU radio voice Don Fischer called out Finebaum as the Hoosiers pulled away in Pasadena on Jan. 1.<\/p>\n
Finally, after IU humiliated the SEC darling Crimson Tide 38-3, and went on to a perfect 16-0 season and a national title, Finebaum paid tribute to Cignetti and the Hoosiers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere could be debate on whether Indiana had the best season in college football history, but there can be no debate, it is the greatest story in the history of the game. And what made it even more amazing is how people misunderstood what Curt Cignetti was doing in Bloomington,\u201d Finebaum said in January<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cLet me assure you, nobody was more incorrect in understanding that process than me. Almost everything I said throughout the season about him and about Indiana was wrong, and it was an epic failure on my part. There was no question Indiana was the best team, and yes, the Big Ten is the best conference in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n Finebaum\u2019s mea culpa was a necessary step if he intended to retain any measure of credibility as an analyst of the sport.<\/p>\n But his transformation has continued.<\/p>\n Auburn has lost six straight games to its bitter rival Alabama.\u00a0 Typically, a new Auburn head coach is measured by whether he can beat the Crimson Tide.<\/p>\n A program that claims nine national titles, Auburn has won nearly 300 more games all-time than Indiana, college football\u2019s program with the second-most losses.<\/p>\n But fast forward four months, and now Finebaum has established Indiana, rather than Alabama, as the gold standard against which Auburn football should be measured.<\/p>\n During the offseason, Auburn hired Alex Golesh as its new head coach.<\/p>\n Like Cignetti a couple years ago, Golesh brought several key members of his staff and several key players from his last stop at South Florida.\u00a0 That has prompted many to wonder if Auburn can be the next Indiana \u2014 including Finebaum, who called it \u201cquite a comparison\u201d to be mentioned in the same breath as Cignetti and IU.<\/p>\n \u201cTo compare it to coach Cignetti and what they did at Indiana, I would say probably, if that\u2019s the expectation, awesome,\u201d Golesh told Finebaum<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat those guys did in that two-year run that they\u2019ve had so far is unprecedented. This can be, and I\u2019m okay if that\u2019s the expectation, like you come to Auburn, you come to this conference because you want real expectations. So I\u2019m okay with that. If that\u2019s the floor of where we get to in two years, I\u2019d be happy. I think you\u2019d be happy. We may be talking about Auburn more often.\u201d<\/p>\n