Now that the Indiana Hoosiers are the kings of the college football world, it’s a great time to pull the receipts on their doubters.
ESPN’s Paul Finebaum has been a huge target of that following the Hoosiers’ success in the College Football Playoff National Championship game on Monday, specifically because of his well-known strong disbelief in Curt Cignetti.
To backtrack, Finebaum said during an appearance on “First Take” in October that he was “still not convinced that Curt Cignetti is one of the top coaches in America” after Indiana signed the coach to a contract extension.
With the Hoosiers beating the Miami Hurricanes in the national title game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., Finebaum’s take on Cignetti hsa become a low-hanging fruit for people on the internet to use as artillery against him.
Even new LSU Tigers head coach Lane Kiffin joined in the fun of poking fun at Finebaum.
On Tuesday, Kiffin reshared the clip of Finebaum’s infamous claim and captioned his post with a simple “Paul ……”
Paul …… https://t.co/UvtWKssQHX
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) January 21, 2026
In Finebaum’s line of work, making bad takes can be considered an occupational hazard, as they can come back to bite him down the road, and his opinion on Indiana’s decision to extend Cignetti is Exhibit A.
Not only did the Hoosiers win the natty, but they also did it in historic fashion by going undefeated from start to finish of the 2025 college football season.
