Big talk, slow going from Curt Cignetti in the Hoosiers' CFP loss to Notre Dame

Michael Cohen

Writer of College Football and College Football

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – It was about midnight when the door to the guest newsroom opened and in walked Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti, a ripsnorting rabble-rouser whose trophy cabinet overflowed with national honors after guiding the Hoosiers to their best season. in the history of the school, an unforgettable revolution. Hours earlier, before the ice at Notre Dame Stadium had completely melted, Cignetti appeared on the set of “College Gameday” and set social media on fire with a flurry of his latest comments. Linked between the legendary Nick Saban and former NFL player Pat McAfee, now an ESPN star, Cignetti declared that the programs he coaches “don’t just beat the top 25 teams, we beat the— on them.” At that time, he sat with his hands folded while everyone on the platform shouted with joy.

But it wasn’t the same Cignetti who walked into the post-match press conference with his metaphorical tail tucked between his legs, a series of puzzling decisions behind him. The scoreboard at Notre Dame Stadium may have shown a narrow 27-17 victory for Notre Dame, which entered the weekend as the betting favorite, but nothing about the game itself was close. Cignetti’s team trailed by 24 points with less than five minutes remaining after Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard plunged into the end zone for a 1-yard score. Had it not been for two touchdowns in the final 90 seconds — long after most Indiana fans had left — the outlook would have been worse for a team whose resume has been questioned over the final two months of the regular season.

“The hardest thing on a night like this is saying ‘goodbye’ to your kids,” Cignetti laughed as he stood behind the microphone. “They are sad because their old man was kicked.”

And it really was a kick. Indiana’s postseason offense ranked second in the nation in scoring at 43.3 points per game with one field goal in the first 58 minutes and a turnover. The first three drives of the Hoosiers’ seven goals gained 2 yards or less, including two punt returns. One ended with a painful interception from quarterback Kurtis Rourke, whose worst outings of the season in terms of completion percentage came against the top three teams Indiana faced: Michigan (60.7%), Ohio State (44.4%) and Notre Dame ( 60.6%) ). The defense, which played hard, was held back by a number of fumbles and one gap that came from tailback Jeremiah Love’s 98-yard run for the opening score. Punter Evan James hit his first two kicks and got an earful from Cignetti each time he returned to the sideline.

The second and third quarters produced an interesting display of histrionics from Cignetti, who walked the length of the Indiana bench repeatedly, separating himself by 30 or 40 yards from the rest of his coaching staff. How hard could one man cross his arms in frustration after his team’s eight third down? “Our offense was passive,” Cignetti said. How hard could one man pound his fists on his hips whenever one of Notre Dame’s skill players made a move that wasn’t caught by a linebacker? “We played good people who moved fast,” Cignetti said. How could one man laugh when his last second pass before a rare fake field goal attempt by the Fighting Irish wiped out what would have been a fourth down stop? “You don’t get everything you want in life,” Cignetti said.

The sloppiness of the game itself dampened what had been a magical day for college football, which made its 12-team playoff run. There was a little traffic on the trip to South Bend on Friday afternoon, but not for a lack of excitement between the Hoosier faithful and the Fighting Irish. Instead, fans were packed into the small town from early morning, before 7am, with videos of cars lining up to park amid the rapidly advancing snow on social media; it was the excitement that accompanied the first-ever College Football Playoff game played on campus. It was half an hour later that the Notre Dame athletic department’s official X account shared a photo of a snow-covered field with three snowballs pre-packaged as a miniature version of Frosty.

But by mid-afternoon, by which time the sky had darkened and the temperature had climbed into the 30s, every corner of Notre Dame’s campus was abuzz with drink-holding fans from across the state and beyond. There were two violinists giving an impromptu concert at the door of O’Rourke’s Public House, a pub on the corner of E. Angela Boulevard and N. Eddy Street, just beyond the entrance to the well-maintained school grounds. Crowds of fans streamed past the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art to parking lots near the stadium, where Irish flags dotted the sky and canopy tents stretched to the horizon. Indiana fans wearing the school’s famous candy stripe pants mingled with Notre Dame fans dressed as leprechauns or Santa Claus or Buddy Hobbs, the main character in “Elf.” A man poked his head out of a yellow-tipped cigar outfit to further the pun on Cignetti’s last name. A cart outside the Ara Parseghian Gate, named after the legendary Fighting Irish coach who won national championships in 1966 and 1973, sold hot chocolate for $5.49 a cup to fans whose pursuit efforts needed warming. The broadcast of private jets landing at the local airport boomed.

“Whoah-, whoah-, whoah-, whoah-, whoah-, whoah-!!” a handful of Hoosier faithful shouted as they walked between the stadium and the Joyce Center, home of Notre Dame’s basketball teams. “Loo-, open-, open-, release!” a jeering group of Fighting Irish supporters chanted, imitating the rhythm and jingle of the song. Both sides shared a laugh.

There was much for everyone to enjoy in this resurgence of what some were calling the Indiana State Championship, two campuses separated by less than 200 miles. Since 1991, the Fighting Irish and Hoosiers have faced each other on the football field to renew a rivalry that began in the 19th century. From then on, the predecessor was used to participating in national competitions. But the latter lost more games than any other FBS program and reached 11 wins for the first time in school history.

That’s why there was still pride in Cignetti’s voice when he answered questions about how this year’s Indiana team should be remembered. Indeed, the Hoosiers were outplayed by Notre Dame in a game they had little chance of winning. But they would also set a new standard under Cignetti in an unforgettable 1st year.

“You had a historic season, didn’t you?” Cignetti said. “Lay the foundation for hopefully what’s to come.”

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him on @Michael_Cohen13.

[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]

FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience