Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman and Indiana’s Curt Cignetti took part in an icy postgame handshake following the Fighting Irish’s 27-17 victory over the Hoosiers following Friday night’s College Football Playoff first round game. Cignetti, who said a few choice words before the matchup about his team, watched the Hoosiers trail by as many as 24 points late in the contest in a non-competitive game.
Freeman did not make eye contact with Cignetti at midfield during a meet-up that quickly went viral. Freeman and the Fighting Irish move on to face Georgia in the Sugar Bowl in the playoff quarterfinals on Jan. 1.
«Proud of the way they played. I told Coach Cignetti after the game, I think that’s a heck of a football team we faced that obviously showed wouldn’t quit until the end,» Freeman said, via Irish Illustrated. «Some good teaching opportunities for us. We’re going to use that fourth quarter defensively. Special teams-wise we’ve got to learn from some of those situations that happened in this game because we have to be better because of it. I’m actually kind of glad it did happen because it’s going to be a chance for us to humble ourselves and get back to work and work on ways to improve as we get ready for this next opportunity.»
Cignetti appeared on College GameDay several hours before kickoff telling the nation how deserving his team was of their playoff bid after finishing 11-1 in the Big Ten. Questions arose after the matchup, but Cignetti continued to tout the Hoosiers.
«All good things come to an end. And when you’re my age, you’ve seen it all,» Cignetti said. «And I have a lot of guys hurting in there but a part of life is learning how to deal with disappointment the proper way and come back a stronger person because of the experience. You never get everything you want in life. That’s how life is. But it doesn’t diminish what these guys accomplished, for sure this season, which everyone in this room can detail out what this team’s accomplished. A lot of firsts.»
Indiana’s loss to Notre Dame in the first round of the playoff sparked instantaneous debate on the validity of the selection committee’s decision to include the Hoosiers over SEC teams like Alabama and South Carolina following Friday night’s result. Indiana trailed by multiple possessions throughout the contest and the 27-17 final score was closer than much of the contest indicated, leading to questions.
Was this Hoosiers team, at 11-1 overall entering the playoff without a single victory over a nationally-ranked opponent, worthy of the 10-seed over a couple three-loss SEC squads? Indiana earned a playoff berth after recording the best regular season in program history strengthened by a soft schedule by Big Ten standards.
Meanwhile, three-loss Alabama, South Carolina and Ole Miss finished just outside of the playoff’s final top 12 after Clemson upended SMU in the ACC Championship Game to secure a bid-stealing situation. SMU, Clemson and Indiana were the «last teams in» on Selection Sunday.