Indiana’s Curt Cignetti tries to explain sad surrender punt

For a coach who likes to talk the talk, Curt Cignetti sure didn’t walk the walk.

Clichés aside, everything that got Indiana to South Bend disappeared the second Cignetti saw his breath. The aggressiveness that saw the first-year head coach earn Coach of the Year honors and turn one of the worst football programs in the country into a playoff contender was nowhere to be found.

The final score, 27-17, was closer than the game indicated. Cignetti’s offense never made it a game, which is seemingly why he elected to break the surrender index in the fourth quarter of the first game in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff.

4th-and-11. Midfield. Down 17. Fourth quarter. Over 10 minutes to play.

And Cignetti punted.

He punted like he was coaching a late-season NFL team looking to secure better draft positioning, except there was no tomorrow for his bunch. And yet, he felt like his team’s defense was also going to be his team’s best source of offense.

Cignetti attempted to explain his decision to punt, one that was seriously questioned by Sean McDonough and Greg McElroy, amongst several others.

“I mean, I didn’t want to punt, but we were doing nothing on offense,” said Cignetti. “And our defense was fighting. That was the only positive, really, that I could draw, was that our defense was fighting ’cause offense was doing nothing. And I didn’t want to go 4th-and-10, you know, it’s just like you’re wishing and hoping; you have nothing to base it on that you can convert 4th-and-10 at that point, right?

“And there’s still time, if you punt, to win the game. Um, so, that was the reason why. I didn’t want to do it, but I felt like it was the best move.”

Curt Cignetti on Indiana’s sad punt: “I didn’t want to punt, but we were doing nothing on offense. And our defense was fightin’. That was the only positive, really, that I could draw, is our defense was still fightin’. ‘Cause offense was doing nothin’….” 🏈🎙️#CFP https://t.co/KQ7iWSs52n pic.twitter.com/IVMcWZWMJn

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 21, 2024

He might just be the only one.

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