COLUMBUS, Ohio — Curt Cignetti’s brows were drawn together, his lips pursed and his head tilted in disbelief and perhaps disgust.
Should Indiana be considered for the College Football Playoff?
“Is that a serious question?” the Indiana coach started toward an inquiring reporter after his team’s 23-point loss at second-ranked Ohio State. “I won’t answer that either. The answer is so clear.”
A few seconds later, Cignetti responded with a nod of the head and a “well, sure, dude.”
It is the season of lobbying in the playoffs, after all. And while Cignetti backed away from the original playoff question here on Saturday, he couldn’t resist commenting a second time.
But for many across the country — especially those who reside in a certain part of our great nation (ahem, the South) — Indiana’s candidacy isn’t so obvious. And after a 38-15 loss to the Buckeyes, it wasn’t any clearer for them.
In fact, while writing this column, high above Ohio Stadium, this reporter received several messages from those folks down south.
They didn’t beat anyone.
They shouldn’t be hunting.
Ah yes, it’s that time of year.
The SEC’s best five-team argument—yes, five – getting into the 12-team field likely failed on Saturday afternoon. Just minutes after Ohio State beat Indiana, Florida upset Ole Miss, a playoff bubble team whose loss likely sets the stage for the Hoosiers — and Tennessee, too — to make the field.
Or yes?
Last week’s College Football Playoff committee rankings seemed to place each of the Big 12 or ACC runners-up behind those programs. But we’ll know more on Tuesday night when the committee releases its rankings.
For now, let the politicking continue.
At Ohio Stadium after Saturday’s game, Cignetti and the players met with reporters with the playoff cloud hanging over them.
QB Kurtis Rourke is hoping for a “revenge game” against Ohio State in the postseason, and linebacker Aiden Fisher says the Hoosiers — a team with 20 transfers from the top five — showed their physicality against arguably the most talented team in college football.
“People are asking, can this group of five team last? Look at the film,’” Fisher said.
In a way, he’s right. This wasn’t too disastrous a performance by Cignetti’s crew. Ohio State scored in the final seconds to extend the lead from 16 to 23, and the Buckeyes got 14 special teams points from the Hoosiers. Indiana allowed a 79-yard punt return by star Caleb Downs and dropped a punt snap to put Ryan Day’s team up by seven.
In fact, IU’s defense allowed just 316 yards.
But that’s an insult, brother, an insult. The Hoosiers scored 15 points, 30 points below their average, and had 151 yards, more than 300 yards below their average.
After the opening 70-yard touchdown drive, Indiana gained 81 yards on 48 plays. Gave up five sacks, completed just eight passes and averaged 2.6 yards per play.
“Every time we dropped back to pass, something bad happened,” Cignetti said.
Cignetti pointed to several factors for the offensive outing: Ohio State’s noise and talent.
The Buckeyes are “charged,” he said, and the Hoosiers needed to switch to a quiet count because of the noise, something that rattled the team and resulted in miscommunication on the O-line.
“I didn’t think we played our best game today,” Cignetti said.
But has it proven enough to be in the playoffs?
“I don’t make decisions like that,” Cignetti replied. “Now it’s more important for me to focus on the next match. Great rival [Purdue]. Everyone has to focus on that.”
The center of attention for the masses was, is and will be Indiana’s program, ranked 106th out of 137 FBS teams entering Saturday. Their opponents are a cumulative record of 10 games under .500. They played one ranked team (Ohio State). Before Saturday, they had beaten just one program with a winning record (Washington 6-5).
Those are the negatives. There are also positives. Indiana outscored nine of 10 opponents by double figures, was top five in the nation in scoring offense and defense, and hung around – at least for a quarter and a half! — with the Buckeyes.
Before kickoff on Saturday, Cignetti, boastful and brash, made his feelings known in an interview with ESPN.
“We have the biggest scoring margin in college football, right?” he said. “There is a story that created another chip for us. People can stick this story to their you-know-what.”
Many other bubble teams have their own problems as well.
Tennessee lost to Arkansas by five losses. Every ACC or Big 12 champion will likely have at least two losses. SEC teams Ole Miss and South Carolina each have three losses, and Clemson lost at home to Louisville (not to mention a season-opening loss to Georgia in Atlanta).
Even in Georgia’s two losses, despite playing the nation’s toughest schedule, it struggled for three quarters against UMass (the Bulldogs allowed a whopping 226 yards).
Every team has a wart or two or three or four. It’s nearly impossible to separate the group of potential bigs, a thankless position for committee members and the poor sap (Michigan AD Warde Manuel) that the CFP needlessly trots out every week to explain the rankings.
Maybe that’s why pro football doesn’t have a committee. No big teams. No silly data-driven decisions and crazy metrics to separate playoff teams.
In the NFL, it’s literally decided on the field, with postseason berths tied to division and conference finals.
Some want this model for this sport. One of them was here Saturday: Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, the man who suggested such a format to SRP leaders during meetings in the spring. The model would include three or four automatic qualifiers for each SEC and Big Ten; two each for the ACC and Big 12; one automatic G5 offer; and then three to five major cities in another expanded field of 14 or 16 teams.
Is it the future?
Maybe.
For now, let the lobbying, stupid metrics and impossible debates continue.