Cignetti haters, get in here!
I don’t think I can ever like this guy. Two reasons (this is from memory so correct me if I’m wrong):
1. Before their playoff game (singular) last year, Cignetti was on GameDay 15 minutes before kickoff. 15 minutes before kickoff of their first ever playoff game. Leaving his players in a hostile environment 15 minutes before a playoff game to try to impress a dork like Pat McAfee. In the interview where he seemingly wouldn’t leave the stage, he said they were going to “kick the shit out of Notre Dame”, on live tv 15 minutes before kickoff in a hostile environment where his players were probably wondering where their head coach was.
2. When ND was up by I think 17 in the fourth quarter. IU hadn’t been able to move the ball all night but they were in ND territory at like the 40. It was 4th and maybe 7. Cignetti punts. He punts in a playoff game down 17 on a drive where they finally found some momentum. Freeman recognizes the white flag and puts in the backups. They play conservatively and burn some clock before punting it back. ND puts their backups in on Defense and what does Cig do? He suddenly starts calling an aggressive game, like more aggressive than they have all game. They end up scoring to make it look respectable (it wasn’t). His entire gameplan all game was to not get embarrassed.
I hope ND plays them next year and Freeman never lets up on the gas.
Replies to: Cignetti haters, get in here!
Feels like Cig is the coach that the media thought Coach Prime would be
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3) When asked why he chose IU - "I looked at the schedule and saw 10 wins". What a competitor.
4) Scheduling. He and IU are scheduling playoff appearances, not competing for them.
He's an excellent coach, has an excellent staff and, to this point, has done an excellent job with their portal acquisitions. I'd say "let's see what happens next year", but they, once again, start off with 3 FCS teams and have 1 tough game all year.
That also lets him rest his starters for the most of the second half each game
His success is dependent on having a healthy starting lineup. If anyone gets hurt there’s a huge dropoff because he relies 100% on the transfer portal and no one is transferring to IU to sit on the bench.
The easy schedule, is well, “easy” but it also allows him to rest his starters and provides a slimmer chance of injury.
I think all around it’s bad for the game. Everyone will start to copy it and regular seasons are going to be incredibly boring and predictable and we’ll continue to get undeserving teams in the playoffs because they didn’t lose to any of the cupcakes they scheduled.
Truly, screw Cignetti.
Remember what Yoda said, jealousy leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to the dark
side!! Only kidding with you!😜
I'll get flamed for this but IMO, he is the best current college football coach.
What he has done in two years at Indiana is nothing short of amazing. Mendoza, Coogan, etc. have thrived under his leadership. His players are all in, execute flawlessly, and are a disciplined bunch. They weren't 5 stars either (Coogan is an excellent example). Many come from JMU and Indiana. Check this article from (yes, I know) ESPN. The guy is elite. Google him hehe.
Sure, Freeman beat him last year and Freeman is also a great coach. But Freeman did it with more, Cignetti with less, much less.
Link: https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/47542203/college-football-playoff-indiana-hoosiers-curt-cignetti-scouting-recruiting
100%
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Agreed.
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I think he’s a hell of a coach too…
I’m just never going to like him
The IU alum & boosters like him & that's what matters.
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How can't they love him ..he takes nobody s and knocks other teams dicks in the dirt with them
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Who gives him shit? He coaches well, but he is a jerk. MF coaches well and handles things with class
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Especially losses when they shouldn’t have been.
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MF is not half the coach CC is
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MF 1 and 0 versus CC.
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MF sitting at home in Granger IN
Cignertti on his way to National Championship game in dominating fashion.
True - based on extreme talent differential vs. coaching IMHO
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Based on what? Star rankings?
Cignetti's team is filled with 22 year olds. Sure they may have been 3 stars when they graduated from High School but then add 3-4 years of college football experience. Do stars really matter at that point?
Plus ND relies on unproven kids who may not live up to their star rankings where IU already knows what they have before the kid arrives in Bloomington. IU is playing by different rules right now because they had nothing to lose. They could experiment with entirely giving up recruiting HS kids to see what happened. If it failed, then IU would be no worse for wear. ND/OSU/Bama, et al can't afford that type of risk.
The rest of college football will catch up and Cignetti will be just another good coach, not some next-level genius.
Edit: just looked up Mendoza’s HS ranking. He was a three star recruit. Now he’s a Heisman trophy winner. So according to star rankings he would have been less talented than NDs backup QB.
Delete.
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