Ohio State quarterback Will Howard got the last laugh over Indiana coach Curt Cignetti following Saturday’s blowout win in Columbus.
Howard mimicked the act of removing and stomping out a lit cigarette in the final seconds of the Buckeyes’ 38-15 win at Ohio Stadium. The move was a pretty clear reference to Cignetti and how some Indiana fans have referenced the coach during the course of the season.
Will Howard with a message for Indiana after the game pic.twitter.com/LAzIptzMKO
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 23, 2024
For context, Indiana has played on the similarity between Cignetti’s last name and the word “cigarette” all season. Students were given T-shirts with Cignetti’s name on a pack of cigarettes for the team’s first game, and the meme took on a life of its own as the Hoosiers jumped out to a 10-0 start.
Cignetti took a lot of heat Saturday as the seconds wound down. The Buckeyes’ in-stadium scoreboard displayed a graphic of a newspaper that read “Buckeyes win??? Google it!” That is a reference to a famous quote from Cignetti’s introductory press conference, in which he told reporters unfamiliar with his resume to “Google me.”
Googled u @CCignettiIU pic.twitter.com/0nl3bAL4C0
— kevin zuppe (@KevinZuppe) November 23, 2024
To be fair to the Buckeyes, Cignetti had talked some smack in the weeks and months leading up to Saturday’s matchup. He deserves a ton of credit for leading Indiana into Columbus with a 10-0 record, which no one saw coming. The Hoosiers were outclassed, however, and Cignetti is going to have to deal with the trash talk coming his way now.
