Well, the stakes are already rising for December 20. Firstly, we would be lucky enough to see Curt Cignetti spreading his magic wand on the gridiron with his Indiana Hoosiers. Secondly, do you know that the No.10 seed Indiana will face off against No.7 Notre Dame after 33 years?

Yes, although the Indiana and Notre Dame campuses are separated by only 200 miles, the programs have not met since 1991. Now that Cignetti and boys come off strong with a solid 11-win streak, it’s obvious that the expectations from them got 10x. But as we know, Notre Dame leads the series 22-3, which might be tough for the Hoosiers to beat them. And that’s when Indiana would fall out of favor with fans, being seen as a ‘fraud.’ This was something that did not sit well with the college football analyst. 

Curt Cignetti standing at crossroads

Cignetti’s program rarely plays Fighting Irish in football. Indiana holds an all-time record of 5-23-1 against Notre Dame. For the Hoosiers, this home-and-home series against Notre Dame is a truly royal occasion that deserves their full excitement. After all, other than Freeman’s program, what better test could Cignetti’s boys’ burgeoning college football power face than against the bluest of the college football bluebloods?

But obviously, it has to come with a cost. Here, CFB analyst Josh Pate highlights how Cignetti’s program will be at the receiving end of blame, regardless of whether they win or lose. Pate on the College Football Show shared his thoughts, “What if Indiana comes in there and just wins 30-24? Your season’s over. You did all this it feels like for nothing and you’re left wondering is this a hollow season, were we really what we thought we were?”

Curt Cignetti’s program has set a high bar for itself. They now only crave to win games by a huge difference. Now what about the other side? They surely are going to be called out for scamming the fans if they lose. After all, Cignetti is known for dropping word bombs. Thus Pate stated, “If they go in there and they get handled what does that say about them? Well, the recalibration of expectation crowd would say oh it means they’re a fraud.”

But does the analyst also feel that way about the Hoosiers? Not at all! Instead, he took a stand, “No it doesn’t. It still means if they get beat 50 to nothing it still means the vastly exceeded expectation that’s what it would mean this one is a standalone game.” Looks like Freeman did some homework on Cignetti before the big face-off.  

How did Marcus Freeman discover Cignetti?

What’s the best way to know your rival HC? Follow his press meets and interviews minutely. After all, those sessions often capture the real side of the mentors, revealing their mindset, persona, and game plan. When it comes to flexing, there is hardly anyone in college football who lives up to Cignetti’s standards. Last December, while he took the HC seat for the first time in Indiana, he sold his vision, dropping a bold statement, “I win. Google me.” Looks like the Notre Dame HC took it seriously. 

Sadly, Freeman had no idea about who Cignetti was. So after their first-round matchup, when he was asked about the Hoosiers HC, Freeman came up with a surprising reply, “I didn’t know much about him. I took a minute and Googled him and looked at some of the things he’s done in the past at his other places and he’s won everywhere he’s been.” Was he impressed?

Definitely! Marcus Freeman continued, “He’s done a great job and we expect a great opponent. I’ve just briefly started looking at them, they’re a talented team that really takes care of the football.” The fact that till then, the Notre Dame HC did not know who Curt Cignetti was—was it a failure on his part? Now, it’s time for the Hoosiers to show Freeman who Curt Cignetti is on the field!