Michael Cohen

College football and college basketball writer

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – It was nearly midnight when the door to the visiting media room opened and in walked Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti, the wheezing rabble-rouser whose trophy cabinet is full of national awards after leading the Indiana Hoosiers to the best season in school history, one A turning point that will never be forgotten. Hours earlier, before the snow had completely melted at Notre Dame Stadium, Cignetti appeared on the set of “College Gameday” and caused a stir on social media with his latest confident comments. Between the legendary Nick Saban and former NFL punter Pat McAfee, now a prominent figure on ESPN, Cignetti explained that the programs he coached “don’t just beat the top 25 teams, we beat the shit out of them.” At this point, he leaned back and crossed his arms as everyone on the podium roared with joy.

But this wasn’t the same Cignetti who strolled into a postgame press conference with his metaphorical tail between his legs, leaving behind a series of puzzlingly conservative decisions. The scoreboard at Notre Dame Stadium might have shown a modest 27-17 win for Notre Dame, which had entered the weekend as the heavy betting favorite, but nothing about the game itself was close. Cignetti’s team trailed by 24 points with less than five minutes left after Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard plunged into the end zone for a 1-yard score. Without two touchdowns in the final 90 seconds – long after most Indiana fans had already left – the outlook would have been even worse for a team whose resume was loudly questioned in the final two months of the regular season.

“The hardest thing on a night like this is saying goodbye to your kids,” Cignetti joked as he stood behind a microphone. “They’re feeling bad because their old man got kicked.”

And it was really a kick. An Indiana offense that entered the postseason ranked second nationally in scoring at 43.3 points per game was limited to a single field goal in the first 58 minutes and one transition. Three of the Hoosiers’ first seven meaningful drives resulted in a gain of 2 yards or less, including two that went backwards. Another ended with a harrowing interception by quarterback Kurtis Rourke, whose three worst outings of the season in terms of completion percentage came against the top three teams Indiana faced: Michigan (60.7%), Ohio State (44.4%) and Notre Dame (60.6%). ). The defense, playing with remarkable effort, was undone by numerous missed tackles and a gap problem, leading to Jeremiyah Love scoring the first score with a 98-yard touchdown run. Punter Evan James made his first two kicks and was slapped by Cignetti each time he returned to the sideline.

In the second and third quarters, Cignetti put on a mesmerizing histrionics, repeatedly pacing the Indiana bench, isolating himself 30 or 40 yards from the rest of his coaching staff. How tightly could a man fold his arms in frustration after each of his team’s eight third down failures? “Our offense was to do nothing,” Cignetti said. How forcefully could a man slam his fists into his own hips when one of Notre Dame’s veteran players breaks free from a defender’s grasp? “We played good people who moved faster,” Cignetti said. How sarcastically could a man grin when his last-second timeout before an unusual Fighting Irish fake field goal attempt wiped out what would have been a four-down stop? “You never get everything you want in life,” Cignetti said.

The one-sidedness of the game itself marred what was otherwise a magical day of college football that ushered in the acclaimed 12-team playoffs. Traffic was minimal on the drive into South Bend on Friday afternoon, but that wasn’t due to a lack of enthusiasm among Hoosier and Fighting Irish supporters. Instead, fans flocked to this small town in the early hours of the morning, before 7 a.m., and videos of cars lined up for parking amid persistent snow squalls quickly made the rounds on social media; Such was the excitement surrounding the first-ever college football playoff game played on campus. It was half an hour later when the Notre Dame athletic department’s official X account shared a photo of the snow-covered stadium with three stacked snowballs in the foreground that looked like a miniature version of Frosty.

But by late afternoon, as the precipitation had subsided and the temperature climbed into the 90s, every corner of the Notre Dame campus was filled with drink-drinking fans from all corners of the state and beyond. Two violinists gave an impromptu concert outside the door of O’Rourke’s Public House, a busy bar on the corner of E. Angela Boulevard and N. Eddy Street, just inside the entrance to the well-maintained school grounds. Swarms of fans marched past the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art to the parking lots next to the stadium, where Irish flags dotted the skyline and canopies of sky stretched to the horizon. Indiana fans wearing the school’s famous candy stripe pants mingled with Notre Dame fans dressed like leprechauns, Santa Claus or Buddy Hobbs, the protagonist in “Elf.” A man poked his head out of the yellow butt of a life-size cigarette costume to further the pun on Cignetti’s last name. A cart outside the Ara Parseghian Gate, named after the famed Fighting Irish coach who won national championships in 1966 and 1973, sold hot chocolate for $5.49 a cup to fans whose jostling efforts needed a shot of heat. Streams of private planes hummed overhead, landing at the local airport.

“Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-siers!” shouted a handful of Hoosier faithful as they walked between the stadium and the Joyce Center, home of the Notre Dame basketball teams. “Loo-, loo-, loo-, loo-ser!” A caustic band of Fighting Irish supporters fired back, mimicking the rhythm and cadence of the chant. Both sides laughed.

There was reason for everyone to be excited in this revival of what some called the Indiana State Championship, since the two sites were less than 200 miles apart. The Fighting Irish and Hoosiers have not faced each other on a football field since 1991, renewing a rivalry that dates back to the 19th century. Since then, the former had gotten used to competing for national championships. However, the latter lost more games than any other FBS program and achieved 11 wins for the first time in school history.

That’s why there was still a hint of pride in Cignetti’s voice as he answered questions about how this year’s Indiana team should be remembered. Sure, the Hoosiers had been defeated by Notre Dame in a game they had little chance of winning. But they would also set a new standard under Cignetti in an unforgettable Year 1.

“Had a historic season, right?” said Cignetti. “Lay the foundation for what is hopefully to come.”

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball with a focus on the Big Ten for FOX Sports. Follow him at @Michael_Cohen13.

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