No. 10 Indiana vs. No. 7 Notre Dame. The first matchup of the first ever 12-team playoff. This highly anticipated event is set to kick off on Friday December 20. As the lower seeded team, Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers will be traveling to South Bend to face the Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium. Unlike other teams, these in-state teams wouldn’t have to bear a drastic change in the environment, but weather can still impact their game. And as per a CFB analyst, it might not favor Cignetti and Co. 

David Pollack gave his thoughts about how snow could impact the upcoming Indiana-Notre Dame game. In a new reel on Instagram on December 20, he said, “I think the weather hurts the passing game of Indiana. I don’t think it hurts the passing game of Notre Dame. When you watch Notre Dame attack on the field, it’s over the middle. Everything’s over the middle. And because they have to commit so many guys to the box, they get easy to find man to man coverages because of their run game being so good. If Indiana can stop that, they have a real chance to win the football game.”

Ahead of Friday, Notre Dame is considered a 7.5-point favorite to win the first playoff round to advance to the quarterfinals. This will be the first time the two teams will face each other since 1991. But as Pollack mentioned, the Fighting Irish’s pass rush could complement well with the cold weather to give them an edge. 

It’s supposed to be around 20 degrees with strong winds and a chance of snow. Coach Cignetti is confident, though. Indiana handled the snow perfectly in their last game, a 66-0 blowout against Purdue. That gave him a lot of confidence, especially since, as he said, “We have a Canadian quarterback [Kurtis Rourke].” He added, “This guy grew up like in the frigid north. He looked pretty good to me that night. So I don’t think it’s going to bother him very much, and so much revolves around that guy, right?”

This year is especially significant for Rourke and Co. This is the first time they’ve compiled 10+ wins in the last five decades. And yes, we got to credit Curt Cignetti for the transformation. And while they’re the underdogs in the upcoming match, they still have a chance to flip the narrative, as there’s a silver lining for Indiana amidst this unfavorable condition.

Curt Cignetti should stress on improving the IU defense

As David Pollack told Greg McElroy, “When it gets colder, and the football gets a little bit harder, the catch rate goes down, and the body warmth isn’t as good.” So when the offense is under external pressure, the defense will have to make up for it. The good thing is that the defense can take advantage of the cold by creating QB pressure for turnovers. Does Indiana have the power for a defense-dominating game?

Curt Cignetti put together an Indiana defense that ranks second in the nation as per PFF. This season, they’ve allowed 20+ points only three times while holding their opponents to under 300 yards of total offense seven times. But the Hoosiers’ playoff opponent is formidable. Notre Dame’s defense is No. 1 in team passing efficiency defense with 28 turnovers and six defensive touchdowns. 

The winner of this game will move on to the quarterfinal round to face Kirby Smart and No. 2 Georgia. Can Curt Cignetti and Indiana rise above the predictions and deliver an upset? We’ll just have to wait and see what the guy who wins does.