Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti just said something to the Hoosiers fanbase that any Ohio State head coach would be burned at the stake for if they ever uttered it aloud.
Cignetti flexed his accomplishments after turning IU into a national powerhouse in just two years, but also insulted the program's past before him. Cig also commanded the fanbase not to have expectations of a true powerhouse.
"What are we, 29-2? When I came, I saw the pictures: 10,000 people in the stands. Don’t b---- about a 38-0 win," Cignetti said.
Nice subtle flex from Cignetti there, whose Hoosiers are actually 30-2.
This whole statement was the opposite of a flex, though.
Curt Cignetti must not be confident in building the next B1G powerhouse
After the 2025 regular season and the 2025/2026 CFP he just had, Cignetti should be feeling himself. He knows he's already going to have a statue built in his honor at Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington.
Still, that is not the talk of someone who has aspirations of building a consistently dominant program like the Buckeyes.
Telling your fans that they need to pipe down is a weak move in many respects. It certainly doesn't fit Cig's "never satisfied" image.
You're supposed to invite the expectations. Not chastise your fans for having them.
For all his flaws, one thing is clear about Ryan Day: he would never be caught dead saying something like this.
Ryan Day has said the opposite of this, actually
Day has a different mindset about expectations. Back in 2022, before he even won anything of significance for Ohio State fans, Day acknowledged that his job is to win them all.
“The expectation is to win them all,” Day said. “I said that in my opening press conference when I was named the head coach [in 2018], and that’s just the way it is.”
Day has shared no sentiment even approaching Cignetti's level of disdain for his own fanbase's desires since winning the 2024/2025 CFP. He knows his seat would heat up instantly if it ever did. Hell, he's mostly said the right things and owns a ring, and he's still one bad loss, like Week 2 at Texas, away from fans calling for a replacement option.
The Buckeye brand didn't get as big as it has become because fans were told to temper their expectations. If anything, Ohio State's standards are sky-high because the fans' every whim is catered to.
Look at how the "Bama Standard" fell off in Tuscaloosa after Nick Saban retired and Kalen DeBoer took over. There's never been a steep drop-off in the modern era for OSU because the coaches chosen to lead the program understand the territory in Central Ohio.
Greatness has to happen in Scarlet and Gray. There are no alternatives, and there's not much else to say about it.
Cignetti trying to be the expectations czar at Indiana won't be popular when times get tough. Perhaps Cignetti knows the times will get tough and is already hedging in the Hoosiers' title defense season.
Add us as a preferred source on Google