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Curt Cignetti has blunt response when asked if Indiana belongs in Playoff field after loss to Ohio State

Sydney Hunte

By Sydney Hunte

Published:

Curt Cignetti tasted defeat for the first time as Indiana coach on Saturday as the Hoosiers fell to Ohio State 38-15.

The Hoosiers had come into Columbus looking for their biggest win of the season to continue one of the great turnaround stories in college football. Instead, after taking a 7-0 lead, they couldn’t withstand the Buckeyes’ offense and defense en route to a blowout loss.

Indiana entered as No. 5 in the College Football Playoff rankings, but that will change when they’re updated on Tuesday. The only question is how far the Hoosiers will drop. Cignetti, in his postgame press conference, was asked by ESPN’s Jake Trotter whether his team still belonged in the Playoff field despite Saturday’s loss, and was clear in his assessment.

“Is that a serious question? I’m not even going to answer that one. The answer’s so obvious,” he replied.

Indiana will have a much easier task on its hands when it faces Purdue to finish the regular season. But it no longer controls its destiny when it comes to the Big Ten Championship, meaning that it will hope to remain in the top 12 on Tuesday and capture an expected win over the Boilermakers to ultimately make the field as an at-large team.

Sydney Hunte