Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti doesn't say SEC to put SEC in its place
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CHICAGO – Was that a shot at the mighty SEC? That sure sounded like a shot at the mighty SEC, as defending national champion Indiana coach Curt Cignetti brought a close to his remarks and Big Ten Conference football media days.
“The Big Ten is the best league in football,” Cignetti said Thursday, July 30. “And a lot of really good football teams, and it's hard to win on the road. Very physical football teams, very well coached. It definitely prepares you for the playoffs. There's no doubt about it; the numbers speak for themselves.
“I mean, we don't have a hype machine up here in the Midwest; we believe everything's earned, not given. And when we fall short, we say we fell short. We don't cry a river, whine and complain. And that's why we're the best.”
Flanked on his right by the last three College Football Playoff national championship trophies, all owned by Big Ten residents, Cignetti’s triumphant, 43-word mic-drop put the SEC on notice without mentioning those three letters that used to define college football.
It also echoed the earlier sentiments of Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti.
“In addition to winning three consecutive titles, the Big Ten has dominated the first two seasons of the expanded College Football Playoff,” Petitti said. “Seven Big Ten teams combined for the nation's-best 11 wins, more than double the next closest league. There have been 22 games played in the first two years of the 12-team (Playoff); 14 of those 22 games have featured Big Ten teams, including two games with Big Ten teams facing each other.”
The Big Ten has leaned on its nine-game league schedule, something that the SEC only transitioned to implement beginning with the 2026 season.
“I love our nine-game (Big Ten) schedule,” Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck said Wednesday, July 29. “I love that we’ve been doing that a long time.”
Despite losing a program-record eight players via the NFL draft and having signed 17 transfers, Cignetti said to expect his Indiana team to be good again.
“It's going to be more same than different. I mean, all of our teams have been successful because they're more similar than different, right?,” Cignetti, 27-2 in his two seasons leading the Hoosiers and 146-37 as a college head coach, asked. “We don't turn the ball over. We play smart. All three phases, they play off each other. Stop the run, and we run the ball. We're good in the red area, touchdown percentage there and fourth-down percentage. And those are things I want to continue to do. We think give our players the best chance to develop, but the schematic part of it is really overrated. Blocking and tackling, you know, running, throwing and catching is the king of the drill.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti doesn't say SEC to put SEC in its place
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