‘Doesn’t Mean Squat’: Curt Cignetti Addressed Indiana’s No. 16 Ranking As He Keeps Hoosiers Humble

On his Inside Indiana Football radio show, Curt Cignetti talked about how he wants fans to be excited, but his team to stay hungry.

Todd Golden | Oct 17, 2024

Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti reacts in the first half against the UCLA Bruins at Rose Bowl. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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Indiana Hoosiers

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti embraces the excitement that is building around the Hoosiers in the wake of their 6-0 start.

The sellout crowd, the atmosphere expected for Saturday’s Noon ET kickoff against Nebraska, Cignetti wants fans to revel in all of it.

Where Cignetti draws the line is when excitement becomes a distraction for his football team and their “process-driven” manner of success.

Cignetti addressed the dichotomy of success in his Inside Indiana radio show on Thursday night. The show is hosted by Don Fischer and takes place at Hoosier Hank’s restaurant at College Park Mall Road in Bloomington.

To the fans? Cignetti is thrilled he doesn’t have to proselytize for more fan support. He wants the fans to enjoy themselves and be a part of altering the game against the 5-1 Cornhuskers.

“We’re going to be sold out this week. We’re sold out for Michigan (Nov. 9) and we’re heading towards a sellout against Washington (Oct. 26),” Cignetti proudly exclaimed.

“It’s a team effort. We got to do our part on the field. We build it and they will come and they’re coming,” Cignetti continued. “We got to be really loud and proud Saturday. We got to be so loud when Nebraska has the ball. I’m really looking forward to the environment.”

That’s where the line is drawn for Cignetti. When it comes to himself and his football team? Eyes can never stray away from the prize.

Cignetti was most colorful in making his feelings known when he described Indiana’s current No. 16 ranking in the Associated Press poll.

“Rankings are great for fans. That’s why you have rankings. It creates interest and stuff like that,” said Cignetti, who then abruptly defined what rankings mean in the real world.

“Doesn’t mean squat, it really doesn’t,” Cignetti said.

Cignetti had expounded on the positive attention the gets through its success earlier in the radio show. He claimed at one point he didn’t know where Indiana was at in the pecking order.

“I don’t look at the rankings. I am aware of what we’re ranked and that’s about it,” Cignetti said. “I also know that if we prepare the way we need to do the things we have to do, day-in, day-out, and stack good days and give ourselves the best chance to be successful on Saturday and get the result, then our ranking will go up. But the only ranking that really matters is at the end of the season.”

All of the above goes to the philosophy that Cignetti builds his teams on, but more importantly, get them to buy into. He has a blueprint that he never wavers from in terms of work ethic, attitude and approach to the mission at-hand.

“Great competitors are never satisfied, ever. You want a team of great competitors who are never satisfied. I don’t want a team of guys that get a lot of pats on the back, pats on the butt in the off-week. I don’t want a fat, soft team, I want a lean, mean team,” Cignetti said.

Cignetti wants the Hoosiers to keep it all in mind when they take on Nebraska on Saturday. He issued a warning to his players on what to expect if they aren’t calibrated the right way mentally.

“This success is very fleeting. I told the team the other day, you get a lot of pats on the butt over the off week, but if you don’t respect the process and you don’t do what you’ve got to do to be best you can be Saturday. I said next week’s news is Saturday’s result,” Cignetti explained.

“You’d be a hero now, but you’ll be a bum next week. So you’ve got do what you’ve got to do. We’ll find out in 36 hours what we have,” Cignetti said.

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