-
adam ritenberg
ATLANTA–Despite how he looks on the sidelines, Indiana Coach Curt Cignetti is enjoying the College Football Playoff ride.
Cignetti’s demeanor during games — raised eyebrows, steely eyes — has turned the transformational Hoosiers coach into a meme, popularized during the team’s postseason run, which continues Friday against the No. 5 seed. oregon Chick-fil-A in the CFP Semifinals in the Peach Bowl. But Cignetti says he’s enjoying Indiana’s historic rise, not in front of the camera.
“There are times when I’m happy. I don’t show I’m happy,” Cignetti said Thursday at a joint press conference with Oregon coach Dan Lanning at the College Football Hall of Fame. “If I ask my players to play the first game, play the first [No.] 150 identical, regardless of competitive conditions, so I can’t be seen on the sidelines high-fiving people and celebrating, or what’s going to happen, right? What is going to be the effect?
“So that’s why I’m the same as I was during the game.”
“Sometimes I smile and am happy,” the 64-year-old coach said.
Cignetti has had some moments to celebrate Indiana’s success, including a record 14-0 start, the team’s first straight Big Ten title since 1945 and its first Rose Bowl victory. Cignetti, who won the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year award on Thursday, is 25-2 as the Indiana coach.
“I’ll be in the coach room afterward smiling and celebrating with the coaches, you know, maybe having a beer,” he said.
Lanning also received snippets to reflect on the CFP journey.
“It was so much fun to step into that hotel room last night,” said Lanning, who traveled to Atlanta with his wife and three sons. “I kind of joked with our boys and said, ‘If your dad had been a dentist, you wouldn’t be doing this right now.'”
When Cignetti’s father, Frank, was a former coach West Virginia And while Indiana University of Pennsylvania was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013, Kurt was unable to attend because he was coaching at IUP. He visited the Hall of Fame for the first time Thursday and before the news conference he viewed a video kiosk that featured his father’s accomplishments.
“I learned a lot from my dad,” Kurt Cignetti said of Frank, who died in 2022. “He was a great leader, and he led by example, and he was a role model, and he was a strong person. He had a little bit of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood in him.”
Lanning also confirmed running back jay harrisJoe entered the transfer portal on Wednesday, will be available for the Ducks on Friday night. Oregon’s running back room has been weakened by injuries. Jordan DavisonJoe leads the team with 15 rushing touchdowns and transfer portal entries jaden lymer And Makhi HughesWho are no longer with the ducks.
Harris, from Northwest Missouri State, has 116 rushing yards and a touchdown on 26 carries this season.
“I think he’s a phenomenal player,” Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein said. “He’s got great balance, he can run, he can really catch the ball. So I think he’s in a position to really thrive now when given the opportunity.”
