Sports

Indiana Football Coach Curt Cignetti Begs Fans To Attend Dull Games On Awful Schedule He Created

#Indiana Hoosiers
by
Curt Cignetti, Indiana Hoosiers

© Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images


The Indiana football team has been under the spotlight this offseason due to its recent scheduling outlook. The Hoosiers are running from Power 4 opponents.

Curt Cignetti is removing exciting out of conference matchups from the schedule in exchange for guaranteed wins. He’s now begging fans to show up to watch the dull matchups he’s assembled.

Scheduling has been a hot topic following the introduction of the 12-team College Football Playoff. The committee showed that wins are more valuable than strength of schedule last season.

As a result, many around the country are scratching quality opponents from future slates.

Indiana football is running from competition.

The Hoosiers removed Virginia from their 2027 and 2028 schedules, a team with three winning seasons across the last 17 years. They paid $2 million to do so.

That came after having Louisville removed from the ’24 and ’25 slates.

The Cardinals were replaced by an FCS foe last year. The Hoosiers faced zero P4 opponents out of conference. They faced just one ranked team the entire regular season. Still, they were awarded a College Football Playoff spot after going 11-1.

Curt Cignetti has no hand in Big Ten scheduling. It wasn’t his fault that his team benefitted from a favorable league schedule in 2024.

He does have influence on the non-conference slate. He’s made his stance on that front extremely clear.

Curt Cignetti wants no part of exciting games.

He’d rather schedule blowouts against weaker competition. “I like winning ball games,” he said earlier this offseason. “We play nine Big Ten Conference games, which is more than most other conferences.”

While it could have positive impacts on CFP opportunities, it doesn’t give fans much to look forward to.

Cignetti’s received backlash for running from quality opponents. He remains unapologetic.

“We figured we’d adopt an SEC scheduling philosophy”

-Curt Cignetti

That jab came as a response to the SEC’s eight-game conference schedule. Ironically, it came from the same man that gloated about his ability to “beat the s— out” of Top 25 teams.

Indiana was 0-2 vs. ranked foes last year.

In 2025, the Hoosiers will play Old Dominion, Kennesaw State, and Indiana State in their first three games of the season. It’s considered one of the weakest non-conference slates in college football.

Curt Cignetti is now begging fans to show up for that trio of boring matchups in August/September.

Indiana *should* start out 3-0 before entering Big Ten play this coming season. It might have trouble getting butts in seats for those less than appealing out of league contests.