"I didn't want to punt" - Curt Cignetti opens up on bizarre strategy that raised many eyebrows during CFP clash against Notre Dame

The No. 10 Indiana Hoosiers under coach Curt Cignetti were blown away in their debut college football first-round playoff game on Friday by coach Marcus Freeman's Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Hoosiers mounted a valiant comeback, scoring 14 points in the final two minutes of the game but failed to surmount the deficit and lost 27-17.

There was a bizarre call from the eccentric Indiana coach when the Hoosiers were chasing the comeback when they opted to punt when facing fourth and eight, a conservative move for the usually flamboyant coach.

During his postgame news conference, Cignetti explained why he opted for the conservative approach at such a critical juncture of the game instead of his usually confident calls.

"I mean, I didn't wanna punt but we were doing nothing on offense and our defense was fighting," Curt Cignetti said. "And that was the only positive really that I could draw is that our defense was still fighting because our offense was doing nothing. And I didn't want to go fourth and ten, you know it's like you're just wishing and hoping, you have nothing to base it on that you can convert fourth and ten right?

"There's still time if you punt, to win the game. So, that was the reason why. I didn't wanna do it but I felt like it was the best move. The hardest thing on a night like this is saying ‘goodbye’ to your kids. They’re hurting because their old man got his a-- kicked."

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Curt Cignetti humbled after pre-game boast

Curt Cignetti has made a name for himself in college football for his cocksure attitude that was on show once again on the set of ESPN's pre-game show, "College GameDay" when he defended Indiana's right to be included in the 12-team college football playoffs despite their relatively easier schedule.

"Look, there's a lot of skeptics," Curt Cignetti said. "There are a lot of doubters, right? Haven't beat a Top 25 team. Nebraska [was] 25th in the coaches poll, we beat their ass 56-7. I haven't beat a Top 25 team? Coastal Carolina back when we were little James Madison moving up to the Sun Belt. They were 22nd that year. We beat them 47-7. We don't just beat Top 25 teams, we beat the (expletive) out of them."

Cignetti's confidence has made him a household name this season and usually, the Indiana Hoosiers who boasted the No. 2 scoring offense in the country coming into the game against Notre Dame usually backed it up, but in South Bend, they fell woefully short of their coach's boast.