
Indiana coach Curt Cignetti entered Friday night's College Football Playoff opener at Notre Dame with some serious bluster. His decision-making with the overmatched Hoosiers' backs against the wall lacked the same swagger.
No call was more indicative of Cignetti's conservative approach than his decision to punt on fourth-and-11 from the Notre Dame 48-yard-line early in the fourth quarter. Indiana trailed 20–3, and with its struggles against the Fighting Irish rushing attack, could not guarantee that many more possessions.