Indiana Hoosiers beat Northwestern 22-20 as Curt Cignetti's defending champions survive scare in Bloomington Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti led his team to a thrilling 22-20 victory over Northwestern, but it wasn't without its challenges. The Hoosiers had to withstand a late-game comeback from their opponents to emerge victorious. Indiana remained unbeaten with a 22-20 victory over Northwestern in Bloomington, a win that was far closer than most expected. The Hoosiers were nearly three-touchdown favorites for most of the week, but that number never came close to hitting. Curt Cignetti's defending national champions survived a scare at home. The game opened with one of the strangest scores of the season. Indiana led Northwestern 2-0 for much of the first quarter, a baseball-style score that is almost never seen in football. The Hoosiers added leads of 5-0, 12-0 and 12-7 before Northwestern closed the gap to 22-20 midway through the fourth quarter.It was a struggle for Indiana most of the night. The Hoosiers opened with back-to-back false starts, then turned the ball over on downs at the goal line. Cignetti summed up the ugly start with a line that quickly made the rounds. He said, We got Pearl Harbored the first two offensive plays. It was an unusual way to describe it, and nobody does it quite like him.Cignetti has become a content machine in college football. Along with Lane Kiffin, he now stands in a category of his own when it comes to memorable quotes. This is the same coach who began his Indiana tenure by telling a group of reporters to Google me. Many mocked him at the time. Nobody is laughing now.The 2-0 start had social media buzzing because a 2-0 score in football is so rare. The broadcast treated it like a pitcher's duel on a Friday night in Bloomington. It was old school football at its finest, a throwback to a time when defense and field position decided games. Fans soaked it in while it lasted.Indiana's resilience stood out as much as the odd score. The team bounced back from its opening mistakes and responded every time Northwestern threatened. The Hoosiers held firm late when the Wildcats cut the margin to two points midway through the fourth quarter. The win moved Indiana to 4-0 on the season.Cignetti's program has been on a remarkable run for the better part of a year. He arrived at Indiana and made the Hoosiers a football school, then led them to a national title. This season he does not appear to be slowing down. His team is coasting through the first part of its schedule without much national attention.The Hoosiers may not be drawing tons of headlines right now, but they keep winning. Cignetti's experience as an assistant under Nick Saban at Alabama shaped his approach. He has described the intensity of that program by saying every day felt like fourth and one. That mindset is now part of the culture in Bloomington.Other college football stories drew attention over the weekend as well. Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore was carted off the field after a vicious hit to the head against USC. Florida dropped an impressive offensive performance to pull off a massive win over No. 4 Ole Miss.In Big Ten play, Hank Brown's last-second touchdown pass lifted Iowa to a 20-19 win over Michigan. Texas survived a scare of its own in a thrilling SEC victory at Tennessee, with President Trump watching from Neyland Stadium. Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith became the Heisman favorite after a historic performance.Celebrity guest picker Johnny Knoxville delivered some of the wildest lines of the weekend on College Gameday. Rob Gronkowski said Caleb Williams' viral injury reaction was about passion rather than pain. Minnesota coach PJ Fleck wiped a player's blood all over his face after the Gophers beat Washington.For Indiana, the focus stays on the field and the next opponent. The Hoosiers are halfway through the regular season and in a strong position to keep their winning streak going. Their schedule may not be as strong as some other conference teams, but they are proving to be a force to be reckoned with.Cignetti's leadership and the Saban Way he brought from Alabama are major factors in the team's success. The intensity of that approach, where every practice and every play carries weight, is visible in how Indiana handles adversity. The Hoosiers showed that again against Northwestern.Indiana fans have plenty of reason for optimism with Cignetti at the helm. The defending champions are unbeaten, the coach is delivering memorable moments, and the team keeps finding ways to win. The 22-20 final score will not be remembered as a masterpiece, but it counts the same in the standings.