{"id":687459,"date":"2026-06-06T06:29:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T06:29:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/687459\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T06:29:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T06:29:21","slug":"the-cignetti-effect-texas-steve-sarkisian-cites-iu-football-in-nonconference-scheduling-debate-the-daily-hoosier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/687459\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cignetti Effect: Texas\u2019 Steve Sarkisian cites IU football in nonconference scheduling debate \u2013 The Daily Hoosier"},"content":{"rendered":"

Curt Cignetti entered the national conversation on nonconference scheduling a year ago on brand, jumping in unfiltered with two feet.<\/p>\n

At the Big Ten Football media days last July, Cignetti made splash when he said IU had adjusted its nonconference schedule to adopt the \u201cSEC philosophy\u201d of playing nine games against Power 4 competition.\u00a0 It was a reasonable comment at the time, as most teams in the SEC were in fact playing just nine Power 4 opponents each season.<\/p>\n

Perhaps just by coincidence, a month later the SEC announced it was moving to a nine-game conference schedule while requiring that its teams play a Power 4 nonconference game.\u00a0 And on the debate has gone.<\/p>\n

After a 16-0 national championship run, Cignetti and the Hoosiers have nothing to apologize for when it comes to the schedule .\u00a0 After all, they beat 13 Power 4 teams including six AP top-10 opponents and a dream end-run against Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon and Miami.\u00a0 In the end, IU was as battle tested as anyone.<\/p>\n

But this is the era of the Cignetti Effect, and the IU head coach is seemingly always top of mind among his peers in the coaching profession.<\/p>\n

In a conversation this week about nonconference scheduling, Texas\u2019 Steve Sarkisian brought up the IU coach without being specifically asked about him.<\/p>\n

And Sarkisian\u2019s comments about Cignetti came across somewhat backhanded.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of ways to find the path to make it,\u201d Sarkisian told Greg McElroy on Always College Football<\/a>. \u201cCurt Cignetti, an amazing job at Indiana. What he\u2019s done the last two years, there\u2019s not a guy in our profession that can\u2019t say, \u2018What an unbelievable job.\u2019 The way he did it has been somewhat unconventional with the sixth-year seniors, the transfers, the veteran group, the way they practice. All those things. But one thing in there, he adjusted their schedule, too. They\u2019ve got a fresh team, they\u2019re playing a lot of players early in the year, they\u2019re a happy team.<\/p>\n

\"\"Photo via IU Athletics<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t want to adopt the \u2018Indiana Way\u2019 but then, not adopt all of the \u2018Indiana Way.\u2019 But other people now are starting to follow suit. So to Coach Cignetti\u2019s credit, everybody wants to impact our sport in some way, shape or form in a positive way. He\u2019s impacting people because people now are starting to adjust their non-conference schedules because they\u2019re seeing the value of another win as opposed to the value of the strength of your schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be clear here.\u00a0 Indiana was supposed to play Louisville away and home in 2024 and 2025, respectively.\u00a0 Those games were canceled by IU in 2023 when Tom Allen was still the head coach, and they were originally scheduled years earlier when the Big Ten mandated a Power 4 nonconference game.<\/p>\n

Could Cignetti have found a Power 4 team to add in the last minute to the 2024 and 2025 schedules? Maybe.\u00a0 But he was right at the time \u2014 there was really no reason to make the schedule more difficult than what the majority of SEC teams were doing.\u00a0 And Indiana would go on to cancel a 2027\/2028 home-and-home series against Virginia.<\/p>\n

To his credit, Sarkisian just wants to see a more equitable approach to nonconference scheduling so the College Football Playoff selection process has more clarity.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do we find equity in strength of schedule or reward those teams that are playing that strength of schedule?\u201d Sarkisian said.\u00a0 \u201cBecause that\u2019s what the public wants. The public wants to see these great games. \u2026 But yet, if the juice isn\u2019t worth the squeeze at the end, that\u2019s a big risk that we all are deciding to take to play that game.\u201d<\/p>\n

And to be fair, while Cignetti\u2019s posture was correct a year ago, the SEC\u2019s move to a mandatory 10 Power 4 games now means the Big Ten should follow suit and against require a Power 4 nonconference opponent.<\/p>\n

Where we\u2019ll land is anyone\u2019s guess in this topsy-turvy era of the sport.<\/p>\n

But one thing we can be sure of \u2014 Curt Cignetti will be on top of minds, and at the center of the debate.<\/p>\n

Because this is the era of the Cignetti Effect.<\/p>\n

For complete coverage of IU football,\u00a0GO HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Daily Hoosier\u00a0\u2013\u201cWhere Indiana fans assemble when they\u2019re not at Assembly\u201d<\/p>\n

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