Curt Cignetti took aim at the latest College Football Playoff rankings on Thursday, posting a sharp message on X after Indiana slipped from No. 4 to No. 9 even though it did not play last week. He wrote, “Bad losses don’t count anymore? Are first downs still 10 yards?” and followed the first question with six crying emoji and the second with three clown emoji.
The reaction landed fast because the rankings reshaped Indiana’s place in the race at the same moment the weekly show drew fresh criticism from Big Ten coaches over how the committee was weighing the SEC. Alabama moved up three spots after beating LSU 31-13 on Saturday, and Hunter Yurachek said the committee viewed Alabama as having “four really good wins,” including games at LSU, at Kentucky, versus South Carolina and at Mississippi State back in September. Indiana, meanwhile, was bumped despite a week off.
That contrast is what made the drop sting. The committee ranked all four 6-3 SEC teams, while the Big Ten had five 6-3 teams and only Oregon and Ohio State made the cut. Wisconsin, Illinois and Northwestern were left out, even as Ole Miss stayed in the rankings despite a 24-point loss to Florida and a 35-point home loss to Georgia last week. Bret Bielema said, “If we were in the SEC, we’d probably be a top-15 team,” while Kirk Ferentz went further: “I won’t watch that” and “I’m not too worried about it.”
For Indiana, the issue is not only the number next to its name. It is the shape of the path in front of it. A team that was sitting at No. 4 after the previous rankings is now No. 9 without taking the field, and that is the kind of move that leaves coaches arguing that reputation and conference label can matter as much as results. The next ranking will tell whether the committee sees Indiana as sliding, or whether Thursday’s drop was the low point before the race tightens again.
