The rivalry week is on! But for Curt Cignetti, the focus is always on the game. Under his first season, he transformed Indiana football. They had a real chance at making it to the Big Ten Championship and the playoffs had they defeated Ohio State. But that lone loss to the Buckeyes will remain their regret in the months and years to come. As the Hoosiers prepare to face their rival Purdue in their season finale, Cignetti revealed that no teams are worth his attention. 

As someone leading a Big Ten program for the first time, Curt Cignetti isn’t fazed about the rivalry week. Bigtennetwork and b1gfootball shared an Instagram reel on November 30 featuring Big Ten HCs responding to the question, “Which opposing fan base do you hear the most chatter from?” Schools like Oregon, Iowa, Illinois, and Colorado are among the mix that gives out the most chatter. But for better or worse, the Indiana HC’s response was “I don’t pay attention.” 

Another coach who doesn’t pay attention to such chatter is Dan Lanning who said, “I don’t.” But why would Oregon really pry into other team’s matters? They remain the undefeated No. 1 team in the CFB, an official B1G Championship contender with a strong chance to win the national title. But Indiana still has a do-or-die matchup on their schedule. 

After Indiana’s fall to Ryan Day and OSU, Curt Cignetti didn’t address their playoff chances much. Instead, he took the focus to their upcoming game against Purdue. He said, “I think it’s probably more important now that I focus on our next game. A big in-state rival against Purdue that Indiana hasn’t beaten in how many years? Since 2019. I think that needs to be everybody’s focus.” This should be their priority because this one game can make a huge impact on their future. 

Curt Cignetti wants an exclamation point against Purdue

Curt Cignetti is about to play his first Old Oaken Bucket game against Purdue. And he’s more than excited as he rallied the Hoosiers fans for this ultimate showdown. Talking to the media on Monday, he said, “Really need to get the students back. Need to pack the stadium. It’s got to be loud. It’s got to be a winning edge for us.” Perhaps, he wants to create a similar edge that gave Ohio State a boost in their last victory. Even if not, a win is crucial. 

No. 10 Indiana is still in the mix for the playoffs with a 10-1 record. Cignetti stressed the importance of the final game saying, “We’ve got one game left in this season. We need to put an exclamation point on this regular season or this group won’t be remembered quite as fondly as they could be. That must get done.” A loss will crush their playoff hopes for good, even a lackluster win could create a mess for their playoff hopes. Still, they have an outside chance to make it to the B1G championship game if Ohio State and Penn State lose their final games to Michigan and Maryland, respectively. So, you see the stake for Cignetti and Indiana in their highly anticipated game.