Indiana and Notre Dame kicked off the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoffs in perfect fashion. The best college football setting in South Bend, the heated in-state matchup, and two coaches that had unending belief in their programs.
The Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti may have had a little bit too much faith in his team though... Before the game, Cignetti visited the ESPN College GameDay set and had some strong words to say about his Hoosiers.
"We don't just beat Top 25 teams," Cignetti said. "We beat the s--- out of them."
Well, at halftime, the Hoosiers were down 17-3 and until the final four minutes of the game, Indiana trailed Notre Dame 27-3. To put it simply, Indiana got exposed by the Fighting Irish and simply couldn't keep up with the high-powered Notre Dame offense and defense.
During and after the game, college football fans across the country let Cignetti hear about his pregame quote not coming to fruition during the Playoff game.
I don't understand why Curt Cignetti said what he said on GameDay if he was going to coach the game this way.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) December 21, 2024
A few times throughout the game, Cignetti opted for a field goal attempt or punting on fourth down instead of trying to keep his offense on the field in a must-win game. Fans, on both sides of the field, were surprised. Indiana fans were slightly embarrassed.
Hours before kickoff, Curt Cignetti said “we don’t just beat Top 25 teams, we beat the shit out of them” as Nick Saban mocked him for his arrogance
— Greg Waddell (@gwizzy12) December 21, 2024
Then Cignetti punted three times inside opposing territory in a game his team trails by three scores in with three points scored
Even after Cignetti made the bold statement on College GameDay, X (Twitter) users added community notes that the Hoosiers had zero (yes, 0) top-25 wins during the regular season.
"We don't just beat Top 25 teams, we beat the s--- out of them."
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) December 20, 2024
Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti didn't hold back on the Hoosiers' success this season 😤 pic.twitter.com/M4FGhv6Xsy
Sports accounts, like Barstool, Unnecessary Roughness, and more got in on the fun as well, saying that Cignetti's weaknesses were exposed almost immediately when Jeremiyah Love ran the ball downfield for a 98-yard touchdown and the Hoosiers simply didn't have a response.
Googled Curt Cignetti pic.twitter.com/VaA5196dIT
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) December 21, 2024
After the game, Cignetti kept it simple, "I didn't want to punt, but we were doing nothing on offense, and our defense was still fighting."
By the end of regulation, the Hoosiers had managed to put some last-minute points on the board but even Nick Saban said that the game virtually ended when the score was 27-3. Notre Dame moves on to face the Georgia Bulldogs in the quarterfinal round of the College Football Playoffs on Jan. 1, 2025, at the AllState Sugar Bowl.