At Big Ten Media Days, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti jabbed at the SEC. “We don’t run a hype machine up here in the Midwest,” Cignetti proclaimed.
Fair enough. But if Indiana wants to take shots at the SEC, it should stop scheduling like the SEC.
Going into Monday, a home-and-home series with Notre Dame were the only non-Big Ten Power Four matchups on Indiana’s future regular season schedules. That changed when a deal was struck to renew the USC-Notre Dame rivalry.
According to CBS Sports, sources indicated Indiana initiated the discussions that ultimately cleared the way for USC and Notre Dame to renew their rivalry. Was the USC-Notre Dame deal coincidence or convenient timing for Indiana? It’s starting to feel like Cignetti’s program is content filling its non-conference schedule with Group Five opponents.
Not long ago, Indiana replaced a home-and-home with Virginia by paying a buyout and scheduling Kennesaw State and Austin Peay instead. Add Howard, Western Illinois, Indiana State, and Eastern Illinois to future schedules, and suddenly the Hoosiers’ non-conference philosophy looks awfully familiar to the very SEC scheduling model Cignetti criticized. You don’t get to claim the moral high ground while also weakening your own schedule.
In addition to Austin Peay, Indiana also has Western Illinois, Indiana State, Howard, Eastern Illinois, and Indiana State, as FCS opponents on its future schedules. Of course, annual FCS opponents are one of the biggest knocks on the SEC by critics and fans of non-SEC programs.
Meanwhile, Ohio State has future home-and-home matchups scheduled against Alabama and Georgia. Michigan recently completed one with Oklahoma and already has Notre Dame lined up for 2033 and 2034. Those programs aren’t just talking about earning respect, they’re scheduling opportunities to prove it.
Indiana’s 2026 schedule isn’t soft. October alone is brutal. The Hoosiers will play a stretch that includes Nebraska, Ohio State, and Michigan in consecutive weeks. However, such comes after five-week stretch during which Cignetti’s crew play North Texas, Howard (FCS), Western Kentucky, Northwestern, and Rutgers.
Replace one of those cupcakes with a Power Four opponent and Indiana’s schedule transforms from respectable to elite. That’s the standard Cignetti invited when he criticized the SEC.
Final Whistle
Curt Cignetti isn’t wrong that respect should be earned. Indiana proved that by winning a national championship. But the standard changes once you’re on top.
Champions don’t just defend trophies. They defend reputations. That means embracing the biggest stages, the toughest opponents, and the scrutiny that comes with being hunted every Saturday.
If Indiana wants to be mentioned alongside Ohio State, Michigan, Georgia, and Alabama every preseason, then its future schedules should reflect that ambition. Because nothing says “we’ve arrived” quite like refusing to back down from anyone.
The 12th Opinion 
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