Hoosiers Now

Todd’s Take: Indiana Pulled Its Punches And Paid The Price

Regret is a common refrain after a loss, but no one expected Indiana to lament lack of aggression.

Todd Golden

Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Jordan Clark (1) and safety Adon Shuler (8) tackle Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver Elijah Sarratt (13) during the second half at Notre Dame Stadium.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Jordan Clark (1) and safety Adon Shuler (8) tackle Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver Elijah Sarratt (13) during the second half at Notre Dame Stadium. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
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SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Indiana coach Curt Cignetti is a massively popular figure partly because of the brash way in which he swept into the job … and his ability to get his team to back it up on the field.

Whether it was hurling insults at Purdue, Michigan and Ohio State, telling the uninformed to “Google him” or using national forums to crow about his team or himself, Cignetti wins hearts and minds with his mouth.

His teams keep fans in his corner with a well-executed, aggressive style of play on both sides of the ball.

What would a Cignetti team be without that edge? The defense … nasty as can be. Putting licks on the quarterback. Making ball-carriers pay a heavy price when they try to sustain a running game.

The offense with its RPO game, well-balanced run-pass attack and willingness to take a chance every now and then to keep the opposition off-balance.

That’s what Cignetti teams are all about. But in the biggest moment of the season, Indiana abandoned its aggression for caution. The edge was missing, and it showed in a 27-17 loss to Notre Dame in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

Notre Dame did so many things right that perhaps Indiana’s aggression level wouldn’t have mattered, but there were so many moments – obvious as one watched the game live or revealed postgame by the participants – that made you wonder where Indiana’s mojo went.

This isn’t a team that usually settles for field goals when faced with a fourth down deep in enemy territory. This isn’t a team that sits back and absorbs a scoring drive that took 9:03 off the clock. This isn’t a team that punts from Notre Dame territory (it was the third punt in Notre Dame territory or from midfield) with 10:34 left in the game when the deficit is 17 points.

That last one was a real shocker. Yes, Indiana’s offense had struggled to that point in the game. Yes, successful conversion was against the odds. Yes, Indiana’s defense should be dependable enough to get a stop.

But what did Indiana have to lose? If you convert the fourth down, you put some much-needed wind in your sails. If you don’t, so what? That point in the game is the time to be aggressive, but the Hoosiers went into a shell.

Curt Cignetti
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

Even stranger, Cignetti said he wanted to be aggressive, but he talked himself out of it.

“I didn't want to punt, but I didn't want to go (for it on) fourth-and-10. It's like you're wishing and hoping,” Cignetti said. “You have nothing to base it on that you can convert fourth-and-10 at that point. And there's still time to punt if you 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.”

The problem was that Indiana got the least desirable outcome anyway. Notre Dame scored after the punt to take its largest lead of 27-3. Cignetti should have trusted his original instinct.

The answer also demonstrated lack of faith in the offense. Sure, that lack of faith was probably justified, but since when does Cignetti not infuse his teams with confidence in their ability to execute? Lack of trust is off-script for Cignetti. 

That punt decision was the most obvious regret Indiana should have. But there were other, less obvious things.

Defensive coordinator Bryant Haines was beside himself after the game for being too conservative.

“They get the ball on the 2-yard line. I put in a simple kind of gapped-out call. I was thinking of being even more aggressive. I was talking to Aiden Fisher; you want to go attack them, maybe we can get two points here?” said Haines, who was explaining what set Jeremiyah Love’s 98-yard touchdown run in motion.

“No, let's put in a nice conservative call. You misfit it a little bit, and the thing rips you for 98 yards and six points. That's how small the margin for error is against elite teams. I felt that way against Ohio State. I felt that way again tonight,” he added.

Haines had regret about not calling the game as aggressively as he wanted.

“In my mind I saw a chance of being aggressive. But, again, a lot of it for me is the flow of the game. Whether it be like how was the offense doing? What's the field position?” Haines said.

“I wanted to be aggressive against Ohio State. Maybe they get the ball on the 30-yard line. That changes things. There's some situational football in there,” he continued.

“Looking back at it, especially on third down, I had intentions of being a little more aggressive. But that 35 seconds goes fast. You've got to come up with a call, put it all together. And hindsight is 20/20.”

I’m not sure what was stopping any of the coaches from being as aggressive as they wanted. As this is written (a few hours after the game), Cignetti is already being criticized nationally for being too timid. Given how much he likes to talk, and his choice words said on College GameDay about beating marginal top 25 teams are just going to boomerang on him, Cignetti is going to be a magnet for that type of scrutiny when it isn’t backed up in results.

Linebacker Aiden Fisher got to the crux of the matter. He wasn’t speaking about any of the comments Cignetti or Haines made. But he noted that Indiana got away from some of its core principles – including the aggression level they brought against Nebraska, Washington and Michigan State.

“We got to this point just being ourselves and playing the way that we play, and in these big games you can't defer from that; you've got to just play your game and just be disciplined in the way you play, and just things like that, just the little things that ultimately amounted to the big things,” Fisher said.

Hard to argue that given that Indiana shrunk from the moment on Friday night. Notre Dame’s quality had plenty to do with that.

Ultimately, the Hoosiers committed the cardinal sin of pulling punches in a moment where the Hoosiers absolutely needed to be aggressive to try to impose their will on a game or get themselves back into the contest.

That Indiana went the opposite direction and exercised caution to their own detriment was a development that might have been the most surprising – and disappointing – of all.

Indiana went out, but when you go out without swinging, it stings even worse.

Related stories on Indiana football

  • GAME STORY: Notre Dame defeats Indiana 27-17 on Friday to end the Hoosiers' dream season. CLICK HERE.
  • TODD'S TAKE: The Hoosiers we saw all season disappeared on Friday night. Notre Dame had everything to do with it. CLICK HERE.
  • CARPENTER AT THE CENTER OF EVERYTHING: Good or bad, the action found defensive tackle James Carpenter in Friday's loss to Notre Dame. CLICK HERE.
  • WHAT CIGNETTI SAID: What Curt Cignetti said after Indiana's 27-17 loss to Notre Dame. CLICK HERE.
  • TOM BREW COLUMN: Indiana isn't elite, but it's better than the alternative. CLICK HERE.
  • LIVE BLOG: How the game played out as it happened in the Hoosiers On SI live blog. CLICK HERE.
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Todd Golden
TODD GOLDEN

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