CFB analyst Rece Davis lauds big praise on Curt Cignetti after Indiana's domination over Illinois

College football analyst Rece Davis endorsed Pete Thamel's claim that Indiana coach Curt Cignetti may be the best coach in the nation four weeks into the season.

Davis was with Thamel and Dan Wetzel in Monday's episode of the ESPN College GameDay podcast. He doubled down on Thamel's statement on Cignetti after leading the No. 19 Hoosiers to a dominant 63-10 win over No. 9 Illinois in Week 4 on Saturday.

“Curt Cignetti still has an unflappable belief in Curt Cignetti. This is the highest compliment you can give him. He thinks he is the best coach in college football,” Thamel said (Timestamp: 2:41).

“And he might be right!,” Davis added (Timestamp: 2:52).

Thamel also followed up on Wetzel's praise of Cignetti, saying that what he has done to the Hoosiers' program is paradigm-changing and remarkable.

He also emphasized Indiana's beatdown of Illinois, which is known for grind-out, low-scoring results.

The analyst pointed out that the Hoosiers ran their Big Ten rival to the ground and destroyed them with a lethal mix of running and passing plays.

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QB Fernando Mendoza etches his name into Indiana Hoosiers' history books

Curt Cignetti's Indiana team may have had tons of players working as a unit to keep its 12-game home winning streak intact in the victory over Illinois. Still, junior quarterback Fernando Mendoza deserves a big credit for this early surge.

The 6-foot-5 California transfer went 21 of 23 for 267 yards and threw for five touchdowns in three quarters, becoming the first Hoosiers player to record multiple games of five or more TDs in three quarters.

In the 73-0 win over Indiana State in Week 3, Mendoza also threw for five TDs and was 19 of 20 for 270 yards. In four weeks, the Indiana quarterback has completed 76.8% of his passes with 14 touchdowns and zero interceptions.

However, it's not just Mendoza who runs this well-oiled machine. In the game against Illinois, receivers Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr caught 14 of the QB's passes for 170 yards with three TDs and running backs Khobe Martin and Kaelon Black scored three times and combined for 196 rushing yards.

D'Angelo Ponds got Curt Cignetti's team going with a defensive gem — a blocked punt for a touchdown — and the offensive line, led by Mendoza, did the rest of the beatdown to secure its third straight win with a margin of at least 47 points.

Up next for Indiana is a trip to Iowa (3-1, 1-0 in Big Ten) on Saturday, Sept. 27. Cignetti tried to sound like an underdog on Monday's press conference, calling Iowa a more difficult challenge due to its Top-15 defense that had 10 sacks for a loss of 64 yards this season.