Curt Cignetti fires shot at SEC scheduling — but does he have a point?
Curt Cignetti isn’t ducking the spotlight—and he’s not having more SEC schools stack up easy wins to boost their resume.
The Indiana head coach, fresh off an unexpected College Football Playoff run in 2024, sent social media buzzing this week when he said he’s https://x.com/Brett_McMurphy/status/1947738873083171176
The jab came with a list of Indiana’s future non-conference opponents—ODU, Kennesaw State, Indiana State, Ball State, and others that wouldn’t scare a MAC team.
It's easy to dunk on it, but let's not forget: SEC teams like Kentucky have done the same for years.
In 2025, the Wildcats will face Toledo, Eastern Michigan, Tennessee Tech, and in-state rival Louisville. Mark Stoops, like many of his SEC peers, has made a living off stacking three non-conference buy games a year. So while Cignetti’s quote was tongue-in-cheek, he’s not exactly wrong.
But here’s where it gets more interesting—college football doesn’t need to keep doing this. With a 12-team playoff and room for losses, the fear of playing tough out-of-conference games should fade. Fans want Oklahoma vs. Michigan. USC vs. Georgia. Kentucky vs. Penn State. And they deserve that. It would make football so much more fun during the regular season. Imagine a week 2 matchup of Georgia and Ohio State? That would be mint.
Fixing college football's biggest problem, the schedule
A proposed solution? Every team schedules one Power Four opponent, one Group of Five, and one FCS squad. That mix allows for flexibility while giving fans at least one marquee matchup outside league play.
Cignetti's comments may have been sarcastic, but they also highlight a real issue. If Indiana can cruise into the playoff by skimming the bottom of the scheduling pool, it forces everyone else to consider doing the same.
And let’s be honest: if you're an SEC team, you can’t get too salty. The mirror is right there, look in it.