Curt Cignetti Shares Thought Process on Questionable Fourth Quarter Punt Down 20–3

The Hoosiers coach was anything but aggressive during the loss in South Bend.

Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti before a first round playoff game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti entered Friday night's College Football Playoff opener at Notre Dame with some serious bluster. His decision-making with the overmatched Hoosiers' backs against the wall lacked the same swagger.

No call was more indicative of Cignetti's conservative approach than his decision to punt on fourth-and-11 from the Notre Dame 48-yard-line early in the fourth quarter. Indiana trailed 20–3, and with its struggles against the Fighting Irish rushing attack, could not guarantee that many more possessions.

"I didn't want to punt, but we were doing nothing on offense. And our defense was fighting," Cignetti said after the game. "That was the only positive, really, that I could draw was that our defense was fighting. 'Cause offense was doing nothing. And I didn't want to go fourth-and-10, it's like you're just wishing and hoping. You have nothing to base it on that you can convert fourth-and-10 at that point. And there's still time, if you punt, to win the game. So that was the reason why. I didn't want to do it, but I felt like it was the best move."

Punter James Evans only managed to boot the ball 26 yards, one his three punts that failed to break 30 yards in the game. It was also the third time that Indiana punted after crossing into Notre Dame territory, a tough stat for a team that had just three points at the time. Notre Dame would march 78 yards down the field, with quarterback Riley Leonard punching in a one-yard touchdown to push the Irish lead to 27–3.

The Hoosiers would wind up tacking on a pair of late touchdowns, the second of which came after an impressive onside kick, to cut the score to 27–17. In reality, Notre Dame was absolutely dominant, and Indiana shied away from the kinds of aggressive decisions that could have swung this game while it hung in the balance.

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