Indiana slid a shocking five spots from No. 4 to No. 9 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, and head coach Curt Cignetti is not holding back. This wasn’t even after a loss for the Hoosiers; they didn’t play in Week 10! Cignetti, who usually stays off social media, jumped on Thursday to make his point, throwing out a direct question with a bunch of emojis: “bad losses don’t count anymore?”
The Committee’s Wild Logic Gets Called Out
It’s easy to see why Cignetti is fired up. His Indiana squad, sitting at 8-1, has only one blemish on their record, a loss to Ohio State. And get this: the Buckeyes, who were a top-five team when Indiana played them, lost quarterback Julian Sayin for the season in the second half of that game. Now, with true freshman Luke Fahey under center, Ohio State has dropped two straight and tumbled all the way to No. 20 in the CFP rankings. So, that “bad loss” for Indiana doesn’t look so terrible when the team you lost to is falling apart, does it? Meanwhile, other top teams seem to get a pass. No. 1 Georgia has a loss to unranked Auburn. No. 3 Alabama has two losses. And No. 6 Texas, who actually jumped Indiana, also has two losses, both to unranked teams. What’s going on here?
Schedule Strength? Or Just Shifting Sands?
The real reason for Indiana’s dramatic drop, according to the CFP committee, is a “newfound emphasis on schedule strength.” While Indiana was on a bye, all the Big Ten teams they’d already beaten decided to lose in Week 10. Northwestern, Indiana’s current best win at 6-3, fell to Iowa without their QB Aidan Chiles. Rutgers lost to Wisconsin. Nebraska got beat by Illinois. Michigan dropped one to Michigan State. And Minnesota lost to UCLA. It’s a tough look when your resume takes a hit because of other teams. To make matters worse, teams like Tennessee and Notre Dame leaped over the Hoosiers. Notre Dame absolutely earned it, taking down No. 1 Miami. Tennessee also looked strong, beating then-No. 6 Kentucky by 28 points at home. But for Indiana, watching teams with questionable losses stay ahead, or jump them while they were chilling on a bye week, has to sting.
Can Indiana bounce back from this ridiculous tumble? They’ll get their shot this Saturday with No. 18 USC coming to town. If they can get that win and stay on track, they’re likely looking at a Big Ten title game showdown against No. 4 UCLA. Wins over both the Trojans and the Bruins would undoubtedly shoot them right back into the top of the CFP rankings. But after this week’s slap in the face, it’s clear the Hoosiers have way less margin for error over their final few games than anyone thought.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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