"It's business": Curt Cignetti remains unfazed by Indiana's huge CFP milestone after historic season

Despite leading Indiana to one of its most historic seasons, Curt Cignetti is unperturbed by the achievement. The Hoosiers made it to the College Football Playoff on Selection Sunday as the No. 10 seed. They're now scheduled to make a trip to South Bend to play Notre Dame in the first round.

Following the announcement of the final playoff ranking by the selection committee on Sunday, Curt Cignetti was interviewed live on CBS Sports. Questioned on what the expectations looked like within his team, the coach remained composed in his answer, noting it was anticipated.

“We expected to be here,” Cignetti said. “We didn't have the team together. We knew we were going to be in this playoff. And it's business. Where are they right now? I don't know where they are. They'll be here tomorrow at 5:00 for our team meeting.”

Indiana will be making its first appearance in the CFP following an 11-1 record in the regular season. The Hoosiers join three other Big Ten teams (Oregon, Penn State and Ohio State) in the race for the national title.

Curt Cignetti earlier made a case for a higher CFP ranking

Prior to the release of the final CFP ranking on Sunday, Curt Cignetti was discontented with his team’s position. Indiana was ninth in the rankings then, one place below hosting a playoff game.

During his appearance on CBS’ Big Ten Championship matchup pregame show, the coach made a case for his team, which missed the conference title game through tiebreakers, to be ranked higher. Cignetti emphasized that they deserved the chance to host a playoff game.

“There are six one-loss teams in the country,” Cignetti said. “We lost to the second-ranked team on the road. Penn State lost to the fourth-ranked team at home. Texas lost to the fifth-ranked team at home, Boise lost to the seventh-ranked team, Notre Dame lost to Northern Illinois and SMU lost to an unranked team at the time they played.

“So, how are we not right now seeding for a home game? That's what I want to know. We have the largest margin of victory in the country. Take out the FCS and the G5, P4 only, we're out-scoring people 40 to 17, second in the country. So because our name is Indiana and not Michigan, we're ninth.”

Indiana dropped a place down in the final CFP ranking and won’t be hosting a first-round playoff game. Despite Indiana’s position, it doesn’t overshadow how remarkable this season has been. Curt Cignetti led a team projected to finish last in the Big Ten to the playoffs.