Indiana somehow pulled off a 23-16 overtime win against Minnesota, but let’s be real, head coach Curt Cignetti nearly fumbled away their entire title defense with some wild clock management. This dude said himself after the game, “It was really how many things you can do wrong and walk away with a very bad loss.” You can say that again, coach.
Cignetti’s Time Management Blunder Was Unforgivable
Imagine this: score tied 13-13, late in regulation, 61 seconds left. Minnesota is staring down 4th-and-long. Their coach, P.J. Fleck, smartly lets the clock run down, trying not to give Indiana any time if his Gophers scored. The clock ticks, and ticks, and ticks. And where was Cignetti, you ask? Holding onto two precious timeouts like they were gold, refusing to use even one to save critical seconds. You cannot take those with you, folks. It was 4th-and-8 at the IU 42. Fleck wasn’t trying to convert that first down. He was setting up something else entirely.
Pure Dumb Luck Saves the Day After The Gophers Made Their Move
Then, Fleck finally calls a timeout with just 24 seconds left in regulation, setting up a 60-yard field goal attempt. Luke Drzewiecki nails it. Just like that, Indiana is down 16-13 with a mere 18 seconds on the clock. It should have been game over. But the football gods smiled on Cignetti, big time. First, Minnesota inexplicably decided to kick the ball deep instead of trying a knuckleball to force a return and chew more clock. Then, out of nowhere, star wideout Charlie Becker makes an absolutely unreal 33-yard catch on a back shoulder deep throw, right on the sideline, taking them to the Minnesota 42. An incompletion later, and Indiana kicker Paddy McAteer somehow bangs through a 60-yard field goal to send the game to overtime. Insanity.
Indiana got the W after Minnesota’s overtime possession ended with a sack on 4th-and-goal from the 4. Had Minnesota scored there, you know a 2-point conversion attempt was coming. This win was a minor miracle, plain and simple, that somehow kept Cignetti from having to answer some extremely uncomfortable questions about his team’s quest to repeat as national champions. But let’s be real, the fact that Indiana should never have been in that situation is the key to this whole mess. Cignetti blew it. Badly. Indiana just got unbelievably lucky.
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.
Leave a Reply