Whether you love him or hate him, everyone has to admit that Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti is one of the most entertaining coaches in the sport. Last season as the Hoosiers went on a Cinderella run to the College Football Playoff, Cignetti was dropping incredible sound bites each week which only made the Cinderella run more incredible to watch.
At Big Ten Media Days' Cignetti took it upon himself to ramp it up another level taking a massive shot at the SEC. When Curt Cignetti was asked about his team pulling out of a game with Virginia and scheduling an FCS school, the Hoosiers Head Coach put the SEC on blast.
"We just figured we’d adopt an SEC scheduling format."Curt Cignetti
This quote ignited the internet as Cignetti blasted the SEC at a time where the SEC and Big Ten are battling over which expanded College Football Playoff format makes the most sense while the Big Ten demands the SEC moves to a 9 Conference Game schedule. Twitter users instantly jumped in on the action debating if Cignetti is right or wrong.
Where fans believe Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti is right
One fan pointed out that if you took the best Non-Conference game out for the SEC and made it a "9th Conference Game" like the Big Ten plays that the SEC schedules are weak.
To Curt Cignetti’s point (and credit to whoever made the graphic). #iufb https://t.co/aUxq77KqGS pic.twitter.com/YHKlWb1UvL
— Jeff Rabjohns (@JeffRabjohns) July 22, 2025
An Ohio State fan pointed out that Cignetti's point is correct when you consider that Ole Miss will only face 8 Power 4 opponents, all of which come in conference games.
Everyone wants to talk about Curt Cignetti and his SEC comments but nobody wants to talk about how Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebs are only playing 8 P4 teams in 2025…
— Buckeye Irrationalist (@BuckeyeRational) July 23, 2025
67% of B1G teams are playing 10 P4 opponents this year. pic.twitter.com/jclWLTBVXt
Among the schools in the Power 4, the SEC only has 3 teams playing less than 2 Non-Power 4 games which is by far the least in the Power 4.
🚨In light of all the soft schedule talk, let’s look at a fun fact🚨:
— Exposing SEC Bias (@overrated_sec) July 22, 2025
Total number of schools in each conference playing 2 or fewer Non-P4 games:
- ACC: 12
- Big Twelve: 14
- Big Ten: 12
- SEC: 3
GaUnTlEt™️ am I right?!
Where College Football fans disagree with Curt Cignetti
Chris Marler crunched the numbers proving that the Big Ten supporters aren't looking at the full picture.
Say it with me…
— Chris Marler (@Vern_Funquist) July 23, 2025
IF WE ARE GONNA TALK ABOUT COLLEGE FOOTBALL WE ARE GONNA DO IT WITH FACTUAL INFORMATION
Here’s a look at some SEC non-conference schedules vs Indiana’s
Multiple teams will play 10 P4 teams every year for the next 5-10 years.
But remember, Mercer… pic.twitter.com/RE5xgSGK4t
Connor O'Gara of Saturday Down South looked at Rhett Lashlee's comments against the SEC stating how their conference hasn't won a New Year's 6 Bowl game in the 2020's.
.@cjogara not a big believer in some of those throwing shots at the SEC. pic.twitter.com/py9Jf7AE55
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) July 23, 2025
Penn State Head Coach James Franklin made the case that the Big Ten moving to a 9 Conference Game schedule was arguably the biggest mistake it has ever made.
Penn State's James Franklin: "When the Big Ten 1st went to 9 (conference) games, you could make the argument maybe it was the worst decision the Big Ten ever made. Mathematically you’re going to have more losses. There’s an easy solution to (playoff format): everybody plays the…
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) July 24, 2025
Brandon Walker of Barstool Sports blasted Curt Cignetti for being loud when the path is easy but, losing the big games when it matters most using the SEC to cover for him being afraid to play Virginia.
Curt Cignetti's comments about the SEC has @BFW HEATED https://t.co/gFNyMvizGt pic.twitter.com/O5ygMoBswQ
— Mostly Sports With Mark Titus & Brandon Walker (@mostlysports) July 23, 2025
When you look at the big picture, the Big 10 actually has more teams than the SEC not facing a single Power 4 Non-Conference opponent.
Looking at 2025 Non conference schedules:
— Peter Burns (@PeterBurnsESPN) July 21, 2025
Big 10 has 6 teams that won't play a single Power 4 Non Conference opponent. (Indiana, Maryland, NW, Penn St, Rutgers, Washington)
SEC has 1....Ole Miss (Only because Wake Forest paid them $750,000 to cancel their game)
At the end of the day, the internet and the coaches in both conferences can argue back and forth but, it's never going to change anything. The SEC has its reasons for not wanting to move to 9 conference games while the Big Ten can beg them to go to 9 games all they want and nothing may change. The Indiana Football program places a lot of pressure on itself with Cignetti's comments but, the Hoosiers finally have a coach that's making headlines.