Curt Cignetti might be changing things around for Indiana, but not without some controversy. The man got the Hoosiers, a team that has been in the lower ranks of college football historically, to a double-digit finish and a playoff spot. Cignetti looked like the change Indiana needed all this time. But Cignetti’s recent moves have college football fans up in arms against him.

You would almost give someone like Curt Cignetti anything he’d ask for, simply because of the way he’s turned the trajectory for Indiana. But this time, he might have gone a little too far. Indiana cancelled its 2027 and 2028 home game series with the Virginia Cavaliers. This major decision is done and dusted, with the Hoosiers’ top brass already having paid the miffed party $500,000 cancellation fees. Cignetti now reveals why the program went ahead with the move.

“We figured we’d just adopt an SEC schedule. And focus on our conference games. We need to standardize the schedule across the board if we want to have objective criteria for who should be in the playoffs and who shouldn’t, and we need to take the decision making off the committee to some degree,” RedditCFB reported on X. This is likely stemming from the controversy surrounding Indiana’s remarkable ascension to the playoffs. That kept programs like Alabama, Ole Miss, and South Carolina out of it, which drew flak from opponent fans. The Hoosiers’ strength of schedule was also questioned, in hopes of bringing them down.

Cignetti is replacing those two games with lower-tiered football programs. Indiana will now play Kennesaw State in 2027, Austin Peay in 2028, and Eastern Illinois in 2029. At least for this season, Cignetti has a fairly easy schedule. This gives the Hoosiers fewer excuses if they fail to continue their magical run from last season. Whether or not this controversial move pans out the way Cignetti thought will be a test of time. Fans, meanwhile, were not happy with this explanation.

Fans leave no respite for Curt Cignetti

Indiana is exchanging a power 5 program for one of an even lower-ranked ones. In the last season, these three programs totaled just 9 wins. That’s how dire the situation is. If Curt Cignetti wanted a schedule whose strength people will have no doubts about, maybe these new programs weren’t the right choice. “Ah yes, they really lightened up that schedule by taking off big bad *checks notes* Virginia…” wrote one fan, clearly disapproving of this decision.

“SEC has the advantage of their conference schedule not being complete and total s***,” said one more user. This year, it looks like the Big 10 has been on the receiving end when it comes to difficult schedules. Wisconsin has one of the toughest schedules in the FBS this year, according to the PFF. With Indiana dropping the Virginia games, can Curt Cignetti truly hope to win fairly in the season and make it to the playoffs?

“I hope they make the playoffs to then lose 59-14,” wrote one displeased fan. The Hoosiers were suddenly thrust into one of the most high-stakes environments in CFB by making it to the playoffs. They did it by leaving some big programs in the dust. Now, if Cignetti makes it back here, with a schedule tailored to his wishes, he has to make it further than the first bout to keep such comments at bay.

Cignetti wanted a schedule to keep the focus on his conference game. But one fan threw light on the opposite turn of events. “Old Dominion beating them would be the funniest thing ever,” they wrote. Could the HC’s plan to highlight their conference games backfire, with Indiana losing to non-conference ones?