No. 10 seed Indiana absolutely deserved its spot in the College Football Playoff.
It won 11 games. It’s only loss in the regular season came to a then-No. 6 Ohio State team that also made the postseason. The Hoosiers handily defeated both teams that played in last year’s title game. In Year 1 under Curt Cignetti, Indiana played with swagger, style and zero mercy for its opponents (the Buckeyes loss notwithstanding).
At least that was the case until Friday night’s 27-17 loss at No. 7 seed Notre Dame in the first round of the College Football Playoff. And to be clear, there’s really a limited amount of shame in this kind of loss. It seems like every year we get a dud in the playoff no matter how many teams are in the bracket.
What makes Indiana’s loss sting a bit more is just how cowardly some of the coaching decisions felt — especially after Cignetti talked a tough game about “kicking the [expletive]” out of top-25 teams on ESPN’s College GameDay before kickoff on Friday.
"We don't just beat Top 25 teams, we beat the s— out of them."
Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti didn't hold back on the Hoosiers' success this season pic.twitter.com/M4FGhv6Xsy
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) December 20, 2024
If you’re going to talk the talk — in enemy territory, no less — you’ve got to back it up. Instead, Cignetti seemed allergic to risk against Notre Dame until an Irish win was all but assured.
The Hoosiers punted twice down 17 in the second half. They kept trying to establish the run no matter the down and distance to no avail. Cignetti made all the types of decisions you see from a coach who doesn’t want the scoreboard to reflect just how bad the performance was. That tactic worked out as IU added two touchdowns in the last two minutes to secure a respectable final score. Too little, too late.
Indiana was out-matched Friday. Notre Dame was a step faster at every point. Which is why it was fair to expect Cignetti would take more gambles. Indiana was playing with house money, after all. The program with the most losses in FBS history just making it to this stage will remain an incredible story worth celebrating.
But watching Cignetti talk tough all season only to see the Hoosiers hide in their shell in the final game of the year is a rough look.
