The lights, cameras and voice recorders were all on and so was Indiana University football coach Curt Cignetti on Thursday at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Cignetti Show made a splash on the final day of the three-day Big Ten Media Days.
It became quickly apparent that this was not a situation where the new guy was going to shrink from his moment on a much-bigger stage.
The first-year Hoosiers boss gave no quarter to anything that would put a brake on what the Hoosiers can achieve in 2024. Cignetti confidently strode from one media opportunity to another, projecting a bigger-than-life vibe with even larger statements of intent.
Cignetti’s unwavering confidence and brash attitude has been well-received among Hoosiers fans, who desired a change of tone, and more importantly, a change in fortunes on the field.
For all of the words he spoke, Cignetti knows full well the only thing that matters in the end will be the metaphorical “talking” that goes on between the lines.
“People are excited. There’s a certain few out there who don’t like me being so outspoken, but so what?” Cignetti said. “I’ve been told this is the most excitement around here in a long time. I’m happy that there is, but now we have to produce.”
However, there won’t be a game played until Aug. 31 when Indiana hosts Florida International and preseason camp doesn’t open until Wednesday, so Cignetti had the chance to let ‘er rip without any wins or losses to account for.
Some highlights from Thursday’s Cignetti Show, starting with his thoughts on stating that “Purdue sucks, but so does Michigan and Ohio State” at a December basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
New comments that will go down well in Bloomington, but not so much in West Lafayette:
• “I remember Jim Tressel when he went to Ohio State, he said something about beating Michigan. I just ramped that up, I guess. We’ve got 17,000 people in the basketball arena and I’ve got to get them excited. The first part was easy, but why stop there and set the bar at 6-6? We’re going after these two [Ohio State and Michigan]. We want to be the best.”
• “When you compete you want to be the best. You can’t have self-imposed limitations. ‘Oh if we go to a bowl, it’s a great year.’ Bull—. That ain’t the goal, the goal is to be the best. You commit to the process and do the things you have to be the best you can be and see where you are at the end. You don’t bring your kids up, ‘Mary, I want you to be fifth-best today.’ You want them to be the best,” Cignetti on not reigning in expectations.
• “I’ve kind of had to speak a big game taking over a job like this because we had to wake some people up and create some excitement, and after all, this is the entertainment business too,” Cignetti said on his outspoken ways.
What about Indiana’s September trip to UCLA? A game that will be played at the Rose Bowl, where Indiana last played after its last Big Ten championship in 1967. Has he heard much about it?
“For all the wrong reasons. We’re just going to an old stadium to kick somebody’s ass,” Cignetti said.
“When I say that, that’s not directed toward UCLA, that’s the objective every week. I know that 1967 we were there and we haven’t been there since and blah, blah, blah. We’re not going out on a cruise or a tour. We’re going out to play a football game. We’ve got a job to do.”
A lot of words that could haunt the IU coach, but Cignetti’s career record of 119-35 strongly suggests he can back it up.
Cignetti’s players note that confidence their coach projects isn’t contrived. It’s part of the reason why they want to play for him, or in the case of Indiana center Mike Katic, decided to stick around.
“He’s the same way. What you see out here is what you get behind the scenes,” Katic said. “I love it. It shows us he’s not putting on a face for the media. He’s the same way, through and through.”
Linebacker Aiden Fisher played for Cignetti at James Madison the last two seasons. Whether it’s the new Hoosiers who arrived via the transfer portal that didn’t play for Cignetti at JMU or the Hoosiers who stuck around, you check your ego at the door.
“The first thing is you never take anything personally,” Fisher said. “There’s little things that build a winning culture. You’re five minutes early for a meeting, you’re five minutes early for a meeting. We dress the same, our verbiage is the same. It builds a winning culture.”
Fisher thought players new to Cignetti were on-board quickly.
“Everyone bought in. They just want to win. Coming from a head coach that knows how to win, they’re trusting in his ways and they bought into that quick,” Fisher added.
Indiana was chosen 17th in the 18-team preseason media poll Monday. Cignetti pointed out that two of his teams – his 2017 Elon and his 2022 James Madison squads – both won or competed for conference titles in years where expectations were low.
There are plenty of unknowns for IU. Its schedule has eight home games, but defending national champion Michigan and Ohio State are still on the slate as well as national runner-up Washington, though the Huskies return few players from that team.
Cignetti would not name a starting quarterback, though he spoke glowingly of Ohio transfer Kurtis Rourke, who is the assumed choice. The Hoosiers have a re-tooled offense and a defense that has few Big Ten-proven players.
None of which stopped Cignetti from proselytizing his bottomless well of belief. More…
The Tribune-Star, Terre Haute, Ind.
