Curt Cignetti was not in the mood for warm words one day before his Indiana Hoosiers face the Miami Hurricanes in the College Football Playoff title game.
Cignetti acknowledged the fairy tale nature of his team’s run through the playoff, as well as the praise his school has received over the last week or so. The Indiana coach does not necessarily have a problem with that, but he made clear that it’s time to focus.
“I think it’s time to sharpen the saw now,” Cignetti said Sunday. “Throw those warm fuzzies out the door, sentimentalism. It’s time to go play a game against a great opponent. We’ve got to have a sharp edge going into this game. You don’t go to war with warm milk and cookies.”
“You don’t go to war with warm milk & cookies.” – Curt Bignetti pic.twitter.com/cXec4CrwJQ
— Will Compton (@_willcompton) January 18, 2026
If Indiana does not come out laser-focused for the championship game, it certainly will not be because Cignetti was not pushing them hard enough. The guy knows when to ease off a bit and when to double down, and right now, it is clearly time for the latter.
Indiana enters Monday night’s title game 15-0. They rolled through the first two rounds of the playoff with relative ease and are a clear favorite to win the title — not that Cignetti wants his team dwelling on any of that.
