Curt Cignetti Emphasis On Winning Close Games Puts Spotlight On Kickers

The first-year Indiana coach said competition remains fierce at the position.

Indiana kicker Nicolas Radicic attempts a kick during a 2023 game against Indiana State. / Indiana athletics

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – One of the reasons why Curt Cignetti finds himself on the Indiana sideline in 2024, and Tom Allen does not, is a contrast in how they performed in close games.

In 2024, James Madison – Cignetti’s former school – was 5-1 in games decided by a single-scoring possession or less. By contrast, the Hoosiers were 2-4 in such contests.

Cignetti also likes to re-tell the tale of his first season at Elon. During the 2016 season, the Phoenix earned all of their eight wins in games decided by the margin of a single score. Elon’s record in such games was 8-1.

Overall, Cignetti is 20-8 in one-score games in his Division I coaching era. This is not a fluke. Cignetti prepares for close games, especially when he’s early in his regime and hasn’t built up his talent pool yet.

“That’s what we throw all of our time and efforts into,” Cignetti said during his Monday press conference. “You know, I’ve got a philosophy. The assistant coaches preach that philosophy. We have a way of playing the game so that end of the game in those moments, we’re playing the best football.” 

“(Indiana) talks about 11 guys doing what they’re supposed to do and the whole becomes greater than some of the sum of its parts. They have to have confidence and belief and be able to compartmentalize the last play, put it behind them, focus on the next one and do it again and again,” Cignetti added.

Where this philosophy might matter most is in the kicking game. If Indiana is going to win the close games Cignetti expects the Hoosiers to have in 2024, he needs reliability from his kickers.

“We’ve spent a lot of time on PATs, more so than my past camps, because when you start talking about winning those close games …” Cignetti said.

Indiana kicker Derek McCormick attempts a kick during spring practice. Punter James Evans is holding. / Indiana athletics

Indiana is carrying four kickers on its roster – Derek McCormick, Josh Placzek, Nico Radicic and Quinn Warren.

McCormick, a transfer with one season of eligibility, was the presumed winner of the job. He made all but one of his 17 extra-point attempts and 10 of his 12 field goal attempts at Louisiana-Monroe in 2023. 

However, Cignetti said the competition is still on-going for the starting job.

“(McCormick) is the kickoff guy and he’s in competition for the field goal job. So that’s been a pretty intense competition. I don’t know who will come out on top,” Cignetti said. “It could be a situation where we have a field goal kicker and a guy who kicks some extra long field goals.”

Cignetti didn’t indicate a problem with any candidate over another, but kickers don’t really get their resolve tested until game day.

“They’re all capable. They all have good kicking percentages. Kick the ball through the uprights. Now it’s the pressure of the moment, you know, being able to focus in on their technique and they’ve got to do to split that upright and when it’s managed to the right or managed to the left,” Cignetti said.

The kicker spot is just one of several where once someone wins the job, they typically have it exclusively unless they get injured or their performance falls out.

Given that, and Cignetti’s focus on prevailing in close contests, he’s hoping a kicker emerges soon.

Radicic has kicked in one game for Indiana, making two extra points and a 21-yard field goal against Indiana State in 2023. Placzek and Warren are freshmen out of Carmel, Ind. and Indianapolis, respectively.

The offseason has less than two weeks to go before the Hoosiers open against Florida International on Aug. 31.

“All of these positions where there’s competition and then it’s essential to have a guy you’re going to ride the whole season, I think you want to know (who starts),” Cignetti said.

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