Curt Cignetti Says Indiana 'Offense Was Doing Nothing' in CFP Loss to Notre Dame
The best season in Indiana football history ended on Friday night with a 27-17 loss to Notre Dame in the first-ever game of the 12-team College Football Playoff.
Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti lamented the poor performance from his team, specifically pointing out the "offense was doing nothing" when he basically went with a surrender punt early in the fourth quarter down 20-3.
The decision baffled fans and ESPN's broadcast crew calling the game. Play-by-play announcer Sean McDonough expressed disbelief on the television call.
"I don't get this at all. … He's really punting it," McDonough said. "That's a head-scratcher to me."
Cignetti's assessment wasn't wrong. The Hoosiers finished with 278 yards of offense, with 126 coming on their final two drives in garbage time when they were down 27-3.
Friday's loss was Indiana's second-worst offensive performance of the season by points and yards. It ranks ahead of only the 38-15 loss to Ohio State on Nov. 23 when the offense finished with 151 total yards.
The defense held up pretty well after giving up a 98-yard touchdown run to Jeremiyah Love in the first quarter. Notre Dame only had 95 rushing yards on 34 attempts (2.8 yards per carry) around that one big play.
Despite the disappointing end to the season, the 2024 Hoosiers still set a single-season record for wins by the program with 11. It was their first time winning double-digit games in a season. Their previous high was nine wins in 1945 and 1967.
