Curt Cignetti Issues Open Challenge To Notre Dame's Football Program
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As Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti prepares for his third season at the helm and the defense of his team's first-ever national title, his eyes are currently set on slightly more local opposition over in South Bend.
On the heels of reports that a future home-and-home series between Indiana and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for 2030 and 2031 was being canceled, Cignetti was asked about it during an appearance on the Big Ten Network. Cignetti said he would have liked to play Notre Dame and then joked that maybe the Fighting Irish should have to go to Bloomington twice "since they're not in a conference."
“I'd like to play Notre Dame. They ought to come to our place twice and we'll go there once, since they're not in a conference.”
Curt Cignetti responds to the #iufb/Notre Dame series getting canceled while talking on BTN.
“I'd like to play Notre Dame. They ought to come to our place twice and we'll go there once, since they're not in a conference.”
Said it would have been a great in-state series.
— Colin McMahon (@ColinMcMahon31) August 14, 2026
Plenty of college football fans got a good laugh out of Cignetti taking Notre Dame to task like that, but far more mocked him for being "scared" to play the team after suffering the worst loss of his tenure against them in the 2024-25 college football playoff.
"I really want to like Cignetti. He talks a big game and then in the next breath completely washes all of that away with soft ass excuses. Indiana has an easier schedule than Notre Dame," one user on X remarked.
"How tf does that make any sense. Any one who’s not in a conference still splits home and homes evenly. Also does he not know that Notre Dame owns his team 😂 This guys a good coach but he has no idea what he’s talking about sometimes," wrote another.
"Come on Curt are you worried that was a 1 year wonder? Nobody was happier that ESPN/ SEC messed ND last year than Indiana because they know how fast the game was over last time they played," a third wrote.
Cignetti is riding high on the heels of one of the greatest seasons in college football history and by far the best in Indiana history.
But that doesn't erase the past or the fact that Indiana hasn't beaten Notre Dame once since before Cignetti was even born. Cignetti has only two losses since taking the Indiana job and one of them was to the Fighting Irish.
If he wants to take Notre Dame to task, the only way to truly do it is on the football field.
This story was originally published by The Spun on Aug 15, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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