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Indianapolis Star
an hour ago
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
'You have to schedule strategically.' Why Indiana football cancels series vs Power 4 opponents
BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football's future nonconference schedules took shape in recent weeks. The Hoosiers canceled a home-and-home series against the University of Virginia for 2027 and 2028 while adding games against Kennesaw State (2027), Austin Peay (2028) and Eastern Illinois (2029). They still have openings to fill in 2026 and 2028, but as of now won't face a non-conference Power Four-caliber opponent until it heads to South Bend to play Notre Dame, an independent, in 2030. Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson described the strategy as the best way to position the football team as a postseason contender in the years to come while factoring in the discussions over future format of the College Football Playoff. 'You can't afford a bad scheduling year,' Dolson said in an interview with The Herald-Times. 'You have to schedule strategically.' Indiana's recent decisions align with the scheduling moves they made before Dolson hired coach Curt Cignetti. The Hoosiers started having discussions about canceling the final two games of a three-game series against Louisville for 2023-25 before the first game was played. Louisville beat IU at Lucas Oil Stadium, 21-14, in 2023, but the home-and-home series that was on the books after that was scrapped. The Hoosiers added Western Illinois to their 2024 schedule and Kennesaw State in 2025. 'We want our nonconference schedule to put us in the best position for success at the end of the season,' Dolson said. 'What we really want to do is make sure we are competitive in the back half of the season and create meaningful games in the Big Ten because we are really playing for postseason opportunities." Indiana's canceled series against Louisville and Virginia were scheduled at a time when the Big Ten was requiring member schools to face at least one nonconference Power Five opponent. The conference reversed course before adding four members from the Pac-12 to the league. 'If a game sticks out and doesn't fit what we are trying to do, we say let's try to get on that now, and be paying attention to that,' Dolson said. 'We don't just say well, we signed up for that, it's just going to be a tough year.' Insider: How IU Athletics will handle revenue sharing: 'We're keeping it simple' The Big Ten's shift in 2017 to a nine-game conference schedule factored heavily into IU's thinking as well. The SEC and ACC haven't followed suit and only play eight conference opponents each year. It's a point that Cignetti brought up when addressing the criticism his team faced last year for having the second lowest strength of schedule among non-automatic qualifiers (ranked No. 35) in the College Football Playoff. 'When we entered last year our schedule looked pretty formidable,' Cignetti said in an interview with The Herald-Times in May. 'We played the two teams that played for the national championship and we had eight or nine teams that had been to bowl games the previous year. I think when you look at this year's schedule, the Big Ten part of it at least, it's a nice formidable schedule and we play nine conference games. There's a lot of value to that.' Remember IU's historic run to the CFP with IndyStar's book! Dolson's team also analyzed national trends, and didn't see IU's nonconference scheduling strategy as an outlier. That's true in the Big Ten for 2025 when the Hoosiers are one of five teams who won't play a Power Four opponent in nonconference, but they are the only team in the league without a Power Four opponent through 2029. There are teams in the Big Ten with as many as seven openings on their schedule over the next five seasons, and could end up going multiple years without playing a nonconference Power Four opponent during that stretch. Indiana's schedule isn't necessarily set in stone either. "I think everything is on the table in the future, everything on the table,' Dolson said. 'I would say we are on a month-to-month basis. We look at the football schedule a lot, we have to stay nimble.' The future of the College Football Playoff is driving the scheduling discussions teams are having. The format for the CFP in 2026 and beyond remains up for debate with conferences haggling over how many teams will make the field and what the format will be. Much of the focus has been on a 4-4-2-2-1 model that would grant the Big Ten and SEC four automatic qualifiers and a 5+11 format that would include automatic bids for the five conference champions and 11 at-large selections. 'We hear different scenarios that are being played out in the media, or in our Big Ten AD room,' Dolson said. 'I bring those strategies back home and look at them with our team. How does our schedule fit with those?" Toppmeyer: Why the Big Ten desperately wants to rig College Football Playoff Indiana will adjust its scheduling strategy accordingly once a final decision is made on the CFP's future. Cignetti will be involved in those discussions as they regularly sit down to discuss key issues impacting the program. 'If you are in a situation with automatic qualifiers and they are based only on your conference wins, that changes your nonconference tolerance," Dolson said. "You are willing to add more challenging nonconference games because it doesn't hurt your postseason chances.' Under the current format, Dolson sees winning as the most important metric of all. That view is informed by his recent experience on the Division I Baseball Selection Committee that he was added to ahead of the 2024 season. 'I know it's different, but I know from sitting in those committees, no matter what you have to win,' Dolson said. 'Winning matters, but as things are tweaked we have to understand what goes into the process and put ourselves in the best position to succeed."
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Social media roasts Indiana for dropping its game vs. Virginia, is Notre Dame next?
With the expansion of the College Football Playoff, many teams across the nation are looking for the easiest route to the 12-team tournament, and one of Notre Dame's future opponents, Indiana, as Brett McMurphy reported that they decided its 2027 and 2028 scheduled series against Virginia was too much for them and backed out. As social media often does, it reacted not very kindly to the news, as the Hoosiers opted to dull down its already unimpressive schedule. When looking at the Hoosiers future non-conference schedule, it's pretty light, as they don't play a team from Power-5 team, with the Irish scheduled in 2030 and 2031. This coming season, they'll face Old Dominion, Kennesaw State and Indiana State. Not exactly murderers row. The question now is what will happen to the series, which we'll get to later on. First, let's take a look at some of the best social media reactions to Indiana backing out of its series against Virginia. Curt Cignetti goes against his own quote Cignetti talks a big game, but when push comes to shove, it didn't work out very well for him this past fall. His first year with the Hoosiers did see them lose to the Irish in the first-round of the CFP, a season where they lost Both games against ranked opponents. The Big Ten schedule was one of the easiest in the conference, and it sure doesn't look like Indiana is 'undaunted,' as Cignetti has claimed. Scared of Virginia? It's kind of odd that the Hoosiers would make this decision, as the Cavaliers are one of the weaker teams in the ACC. They went 5-7 last year, not making a bowl game, and the future isn't very bright. You'd figure that any win over a P5 team would help a team's CFP cause, but Indiana isn't thinking that way. Is Indiana scared? I honestly don't think this is the case, it's more about creating an easier path to the CFP for them. There not a big chance that Virginia turns the program around by the time the two would play, so you'd have to believe that the Hoosiers would be favored in both contests. It's still a decision that is confusing to me. Cakewalk The Kobe Bryant gif is perfect, this is a very soft upcoming non-conference schedule. Sure, the Big Ten is one of the deeper leagues, but the Hoosiers are taking the easy way out. Sure, every team across the nation does this too, but not nearly at the same level. What about Notre Dame? I honestly don't think the scheduled games will change, most likely due to the fact that Cignetti will either be fired, retire or leave for a different job. He did sign an extension that will run through the series, but the soon to be 65-year old might not get to the end of his contract. As one of the oldest head coaches in all of college football, his time isn't long in the game. Now it is hard to tell the direction that the Hoosiers would go if he's gone by that time, but so much can change from now until then. Hopefully nothing changes and the two teams end up playing each other.
USA Today
06-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
What to know about the Indiana Hoosiers in 2025
After parting ways with Tom Allen, Indiana made a splashy hire by bringing in Curt Cignetti from James Madison for the 2024 season, and the program benefitted immediately. Cignetti brought with him a large contingent of Dukes and also hit the transfer portal hard for a complete roster overhaul ahead of the 2024 season. After losing many key pieces from last year's squad, Cignetti is attempting to achieve the same success with another large batch of transfer additions. Here's a look at Indiana as the 2025 season draws closer. 2024 in review In his first year at the helm, Cignetti led the Hoosiers to their first 10-win season in program history and added an 11th win for good measure. His unprecedented success led to Indiana's first College Football Playoff appearance, which ended with a loss to Notre Dame. Though he benefited from a soft schedule, the success can't be overlooked. Head coach profile Cignetti famously told a reporter "It's pretty simple - I win. Google me" after being hired at Indiana before the 2024 season. He did just that, taking the Hoosiers to historic sights. Prior to that, Cignetti was the head coach at James Madison for five seasons. In his first season, he led the Dukes to an FCS title game appearance followed by a semifinal appearance the year after. When James Madison transitioned to the Sun Belt to join the FBS ranks, it went 8-3 and won a share of the division championship before improving to 11-2 the following year despite being ineligible for the Sun Belt title game. Top offensive player After finding success with transfer quarterback Kurtis Rourke last season, the Hoosiers brought in Fernando Mendoza from Cal, who figures to be one of their top offensive players in 2025. Mendoza was ranked as the No. 4 quarterback transfer by 247Sports and threw for over 3,000 yards at a 68.7% clip with 16 touchdowns to six interceptions. Top defensive players Edge rusher Mikail Kamara likely would've been drafted this offseason had he declared, but he opted to return for a second season at Indiana and fourth with Curt Cignetti after following the head coach from James Madison. Kamara recorded 10 sacks last season, fourth most in the Big Ten and most among returning players. Additionally, cornerback D'Angelo Ponds, another former Duke, was a first-team All-Big Ten selection last year and is a first-round hopeful after recording 55 tackles and three picks last season. 2025 schedule The Hoosiers will visit Happy Valley in early November for their first trip to Beaver Stadium since a 33-24 loss in 2023. Penn State has won the last three matchups and 25 of 27 total matchups, but Indiana's most recent win came on Michael Penix's infamous walk-off two-point conversion at the pylon in 2020. Both teams will serve as a major benchmark for the other, and the loser of this game may be knocked out of the playoff picture as a result. Follow Nittany Lions Wire on X, Facebook, and Threads
Indianapolis Star
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
After a historic season, Curt Cignetti has a clear message for Indiana football
BLOOMINGTON — When the Big Ten convenes its annual football media days, this time in the late July Las Vegas heat, Indiana will arrive a curiosity to the league like it has rarely been in living memory. The Hoosiers shocked the conference and the country last season, winning 11 games on the way to an appearance in the College Football Playoff. Attrition and, perhaps, the irresistible pull of history have conspired to depress expectations somewhat from the lofty success of 2024. But broadly speaking, everyone still expects IU to be a difficult proposition this fall. How difficult will be determined by Curt Cignetti, his largely intact staff and a roster reinforced once again through the transfer portal. Talking points in Vegas will include a new quarterback, a new quarterbacks coach, some defensive turnover and how exactly a program with no historical point of comparison builds on what it achieved last year. Which has made Cignetti's offseason company line all the more fascinating. As the season begins to come into view, IU's second-year coach has gone well out of his way to make this clear: Indiana is fully and completely on to 2025. 'To me, that's inherent in the blueprint,' Cignetti told IndyStar in a wide-ranging sitdown interview recently. 'Every year, you start over regardless of the previous season. You learn the lessons, whatever lessons are there to be learned, file them away, and you start over again.' In one sense, there is no parallel for what Cignetti will try to do this fall. Indiana so dramatically outperformed both expectations and historical norms that there are no blueprints (to use his word) here. For the Hoosiers, this season will be territory as uncharted as last season became. But Cignetti has a long history of his own to pull from. He needed to pull IU-Pennsylvania back to earth after a 12-win season in 2012, to refocus James Madison after long playoff runs in his first three years, or a share of a Sun Belt title in his fourth. Collector's book on IU's historic run makes a great Father's Day gift When Cignetti talks about shifting his team's focus entirely to what's in front of them, he's not speaking about Indiana, but rather from experience. And this approach is not tailored to bringing a program that flew closer to the sun last season than it ever has before back down toward the relative safety of solid ground. This is how Cignetti restarts his process every season. Learn from the good, digest the bad, move forward purposefully only focused on what's next. 'You learn the lessons of the past,' he said, 'and you use them to your advantage.' Those lessons are easier to capture, Cignetti said, when he's blessed with the staff continuity he secured this offseason. Thanks to further investment from IU's administration, Cignetti not only inked his own eight-year contract but also re-signed every member of his staff save quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri, who left for the offensive coordinator job at UCLA. Even when USC tested Indiana's resolve in trying to poach Derek Owings, Cignetti's valued head of strength and conditioning, in late spring, Indiana doubled down to keep Owings in Bloomington. All of which has contributed to meaningful expectation around here for the first time in a long time. IU should begin the season ranked, and oddsmakers setting the win total over/under at 8.5 suggests outsiders still see the Hoosiers as a genuine threat. 'It helps that I've had great staff continuity. We're all on the same page on how we do things,' Cignetti said. 'We all know what we expect, we say it the same way and we demand the same things.' Those demands begin, it seems, with permanently forward focus. Not because of any fear over complacency after last season's historic success. But because Cignetti — a winner wherever he's been as a head coach — doesn't know any better way to do it than to learn from the past, yes, but only have eyes for the horizon.
Indianapolis Star
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
After a historic season, Curt Cignetti has a clear message for Indiana football
BLOOMINGTON — When the Big Ten convenes its annual football media days, this time in the late July Las Vegas heat, Indiana will arrive a curiosity to the league like it has rarely been in living memory. The Hoosiers shocked the conference and the country last season, winning 11 games on the way to an appearance in the College Football Playoff. Attrition and, perhaps, the irresistible pull of history have conspired to depress expectations somewhat from the lofty success of 2024. But broadly speaking, everyone still expects IU to be a difficult proposition this fall. How difficult will be determined by Curt Cignetti, his largely intact staff and a roster reinforced once again through the transfer portal. Talking points in Vegas will include a new quarterback, a new quarterbacks coach, some defensive turnover and how exactly a program with no historical point of comparison builds on what it achieved last year. Which has made Cignetti's offseason company line all the more fascinating. As the season begins to come into view, IU's second-year coach has gone well out of his way to make this clear: Indiana is fully and completely on to 2025. 'To me, that's inherent in the blueprint,' Cignetti told IndyStar in a wide-ranging sitdown interview recently. 'Every year, you start over regardless of the previous season. You learn the lessons, whatever lessons are there to be learned, file them away, and you start over again.' In one sense, there is no parallel for what Cignetti will try to do this fall. Indiana so dramatically outperformed both expectations and historical norms that there are no blueprints (to use his word) here. For the Hoosiers, this season will be territory as uncharted as last season became. But Cignetti has a long history of his own to pull from. He needed to pull IU-Pennsylvania back to earth after a 12-win season in 2012, to refocus James Madison after long playoff runs in his first three years, or a share of a Sun Belt title in his fourth. Collector's book on IU's historic run makes a great Father's Day gift When Cignetti talks about shifting his team's focus entirely to what's in front of them, he's not speaking about Indiana, but rather from experience. And this approach is not tailored to bringing a program that flew closer to the sun last season than it ever has before back down toward the relative safety of solid ground. This is how Cignetti restarts his process every season. Learn from the good, digest the bad, move forward purposefully only focused on what's next. 'You learn the lessons of the past,' he said, 'and you use them to your advantage.' Those lessons are easier to capture, Cignetti said, when he's blessed with the staff continuity he secured this offseason. Thanks to further investment from IU's administration, Cignetti not only inked his own eight-year contract but also re-signed every member of his staff save quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri, who left for the offensive coordinator job at UCLA. Even when USC tested Indiana's resolve in trying to poach Derek Owings, Cignetti's valued head of strength and conditioning, in late spring, Indiana doubled down to keep Owings in Bloomington. All of which has contributed to meaningful expectation around here for the first time in a long time. IU should begin the season ranked, and oddsmakers setting the win total over/under at 8.5 suggests outsiders still see the Hoosiers as a genuine threat. 'It helps that I've had great staff continuity. We're all on the same page on how we do things,' Cignetti said. 'We all know what we expect, we say it the same way and we demand the same things.' Those demands begin, it seems, with permanently forward focus. Not because of any fear over complacency after last season's historic success. But because Cignetti — a winner wherever he's been as a head coach — doesn't know any better way to do it than to learn from the past, yes, but only have eyes for the horizon.
