Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman had a classy message for Curt Cignetti after CFP win

On By Littum

In the first game of the new 12-team College Football Playoff format, Marcus Freeman led his Notre Dame team to victory, beating Indiana 27-17 on Friday. Although the score ended with Notre Dame winning by 10 points on the scoreboard, the Fighting Irish took control of the game early. After quarterback Riley Leonard started a game with an interception, Notre Dame’s defense forced an interception by Indiana’s Kurtis Rourke. The Fighting Irish answered on their next offensive possession with a 98-yard touchdown run from Jeremiyah Love to take a 7-0 lead. From then on, Notre Dame held the lead.

Despite a resounding defeat by Indiana, Freeman was complimentary of Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti and his program.

“I told coach Cignetti after the game I think this is a heck of a football team we faced that showed they weren’t going to quit,” Freeman told reporters. “Some good learning opportunities for us. We’re going to use the fourth quarter defensively, special teams-wise, we’ve got to learn from some of the situations that happened in that game.”

Freeman previously revealed before the game that he Googled Cignetti to learn more about his background before the game.

Freeman’s studies clearly paid off. Facing a resurgent Indiana program that went 11-1 in the regular season, the Fighting Irish completely stifled the Hoosiers’ offense and game plan. Indiana entered the game ranked No. 2 in scoring attack and no. 2 in total defense in the FBS. They averaged over 43 points per game in the regular season, but only scored three points until the final two minutes of the game.

As Freeman said, Cignetti still deserves credit for his program’s success this season. In just his first season coaching a Power 4 team, Cignetti led Indiana to their first CFP appearance. He took them from a 3-9 record a year ago to a team that won all but one regular season game. Indiana was ultimately outclassed by Notre Dame, but they already made more progress than many thought possible in one season with the program.