Curt Cignetti and Indiana can say whatever they want as the reigning national champions. That’s at least what everyone thought, but then Cignetti got caught with his foot in his mouth and was immediately exposed by Indiana’s embarrassing future non-conference schedules.
At Big Ten Media Days last week he (alongside his fellow Big Ten coaches) unleashed a flurry of insults towards the SEC. They talked about how the Big Ten is the top conference now and Cignetti himself praised the Big Ten for not being a “hype machine” like the SEC. But it was what he said next that has fans from every conference pointing and laughing at him and the Hoosiers now.
"We figured we would just adopt SEC scheduling philosophy," Cignetti said via cbssports.com. "Some people don't like it. I'm more focused in on those nine conference games."
Cignetti took a clear shot at the SEC’s scheduling practices here, mainly at the fact that they routinely play weak FCS schools during the second-to-last week of the regular season. The SEC has since put an end to those games, but one quick look at Indiana’s future non-conference schedules show how embarrassing it was for him to ever say anything in the first place.
Indiana’s refusal to schedule a Power Four non-conference game finally caught up to them
Cignetti hasn’t played a power four non-conference opponent since he became the Hoosiers head coach in 2024. That happens for most schools from time to time, but at Indiana that is what they do every year.
Just look at their upcoming non-conference opponents they have scheduled for the next few seasons and you’ll notice zero Power Four teams.
Indiana football future non-conference opponents
Year | Opponents |
|---|---|
2026 | North Texas, Howard, Western Kentucky |
2027 | Kennesaw State, Indiana State, UMass |
2028 | Austin Peay, Central Michigan, Miami (Ohio) |
2029 | Ball State, Eastern Illinois, Western Kentucky |
2030 | Indiana State, Delaware |
2032 | UConn |
Now let’s compare that to Georgia’s future non-conference opponents.
Georgia football future non-conference opponents
Year | Opponents |
|---|---|
2026 | Tennessee State, Western Kentucky, Georgia Tech |
2027 | Georgia Tech |
2028 | Florida State, Georgia Tech |
2029 | Clemson, Georgia Tech |
2030 | Clemson, North Carolina A&T, Ohio State, Georgia Tech |
2031 | Ohio State, Western Carolina, Georgia Tech |
2032 | Clemson, Georgia Tech |
2033 | Clemson, Georgia Tech |
Georgia does have the advantage of having an in-state Power Four non-conference school they can play every year in Georgia Tech. That rivalry is scheduled to continue well into the 2030s, but Georgia is still scheduling other big name programs like Clemson, Ohio State and Florida State on top of the Yellow Jackets.
If only Indiana had a big name non-conference school in their state they could play too. Oh wait, they have Notre Dame who is one of the biggest brands in all of college football. These two teams funny enough were supposed to play a home-and-home series in 2030 and 2031, but Cignetti and Indiana canceled that series on Monday so they can make their schedule easier.
How can he do that after slamming the SEC just last month?
Indiana’s easy schedule gets even move obvious though when comparing the Big Ten’s conference schedule to the SEC.
Difference in conference strength makes Indiana’s schedule look even worse
After years of complaining about the SEC only playing eight conference games each year, the Big Ten finally got their wish as the SEC will play nine conference games starting this year. This was a decision the SEC never should’ve made though because their schedules are far more difficult than the average Big Ten schedule.
All 16 teams in the SEC are ranked inside the top 20 in ESPN’s strength of schedule metric. The SEC also requires one non-conference Power Four game every season which is something the Big Ten doesn’t require.
To be fair to the Big Ten, most of their schools do still play a respectable non-conference opponent every year. This season alone will see Ohio State play Texas, Michigan play Oklahoma and Michigan State play Notre Dame, but Indiana’s opponents are as bad as they get.
There technically isn’t anything wrong with Indiana’s scheduling practices. They aren’t breaking any rules and until the College Football Playoff committee starts accurately accounting for strength of schedule maybe Indiana is smart to schedule easy wins.
But if they’re going to do that and cancel the one good series they had on the books Cignetti should be the last person talking about anything related to the SEC’s schedules.
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