Curt Cignetti: It’s ‘so obvious’ that Indiana deserves to be in College Football Playoff

Curt Cignetti: It’s ‘so obvious’ that Indiana deserves to be in College Football Playoff

What head coach Curt Cignetti has done to turn around Indiana in just one season is nothing short of remarkable. It also has, however, come with some controversy. Despite being unbeaten entering Saturday, they ranked No. 5 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, even though they did not have any major wins on their schedule.

They had an opportunity to capture a big one on the road Saturday against Ohio State. But the Hoosiers came up shy, losing 38-15 after scoring on the game’s first possession.

When asked whether or not he still believed that Indiana should be a playoff team, Cignetti scoffed at the question, insinuating that there should be no doubt that his team should still be considered regardless of Saturday’s result.

“Is that a serious question?” Cignetti told reporters. “I’m not even going to answer that one. The answer’s so obvious.”

"Is that a serious question? I'm not even going to answer that one. The answer is so obvious." 👀

Indiana's Curt Cignetti when asked if he believes the Hoosiers should still be in the 12-team playoff after the loss to Ohio State ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ZXpNH6gMB7

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 23, 2024

We will see how the committee docks Indiana’s disappointing performance this week, but they were unquestionably helped by both No. 9 Ole Miss and No. 7 Alabama being upset on the road. There’s no question with how physical the Buckeyes were up front, sacking quarterback Nathan Rourke five times while Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson generated 4.5 yards per carry on 23 attempts.

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In all fairness, the Hoosers still do have the 11th-best simple rating system–measuring point differential relative to the strength of schedule. They are second in the country in scoring, including averaging 36.8 points in Big Ten play. You could argue that the Big Ten has been better than the SEC this season, given they have the country’s two-best teams and arguably four of the top-10.

That said, that doesn’t absolve Indiana from any possible criticism. It still doesn’t have the “marquee win,” which will make heads roll at this time of year, regardless of the conference they are in. They can only beat the teams on their schedule, but it’s going to draw clear conversation when they look completely outmatched against the only ranked team on their schedule.

Do you think Indiana’s still worthy of a college football playoff bid?

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