By now, even casual college football fans likely have seen the video of Indiana University President Pamela Whitten and Athletics Director Scott Dolson celebrating on the Autzen Field turf as the final seconds ticked down on the Hoosiers' stunning upset of then-No. 2 Oregon.
With that backdrop and the news some 24 hours later that Big Ten Conference foe Penn State was firing 12-year veteran head coach James Franklin, it can hardly be surprising that IU brass moved swiftly to reward second-year Indiana football coach and program miracle-worker Curt Cignetti with the framework of a lucrative new contract extension.
Monday, 48 hours after his Hoosiers remained unbeaten with a dominant win against Michigan State and climbed to No. 2 in the AP Top 25, Cignetti outlined his negotiations with Dolson. Those talks resulted in an eight-year contract extension that's poised to lift Cignetti's average annual salary to $11.6 million.
"(Dolson) just walked in my office," said Cignetti, now 18-2 atop the Indiana program. "Normally, he comes in every Thursday and we chat about the game.
"He popped in right before the player meetings on either Tuesday or Wednesday, I can't remember. I was watching tape. I was really consumed with prep."
But Dolson clearly had something on his mind.
"He popped in for about a minute and a half," Cignetti recalled, "(and) said, 'This is kind of what we'd like to do. Okay if we call your representative?'
"I said, 'Sure, it would be great.'"
Pillar to post?
Within 48 hours, 36 hours," Cignetti said, "it was done."
In doing so, Indiana struck a preemptive blow to Penn State's presumptive frontrunner to replace Franklin.
Aside from Cignetti's inarguable track record as either a program builder or rebuilder, he's a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native; moreover, he has past assistant coaching experience with the Pitt Panthers and Temple Owls, in addition to his six-year, record-setting run atop Indiana University-Pennsylvania, where he won 53 games and three times advanced to the second round or beyond of the NCAA Division II Playoffs.
Thus, Dolson and Indiana's aggressive approach thwarted any potential would-be attempts from Penn State's leadership.
It also brought peace of mind to the Hoosiers, whom sources said also have vowed to commit further unprecedented resources into Indiana football's assistant coaches' salary pool as well as the program's revenue-sharing component.
"Indiana has embraced being a football school," a source with national ties told FootballScoop.
The Hoosiers are poised for a return trip to the 12-team College Football Playoff, a year after debuting as the No. 10 seed in Cignetti's first season.
They also are heavily favored Saturday at home against UCLA. Indiana then plays three of its final four regular-season games on the road: at Maryland (Nov. 1), at Penn State (Nov. 8), home vs. Wisconsin (Nov. 15) and at Purdue (Nov. 28, the day after Thanksgiving).