Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti watches the second half of a game between the Indiana Hoosiers and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in first round of the College Football Playoff on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in South Bend. Notre Dame defeated Indiana 27-17. Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Curt Cignetti Loves to Talk About Notre Dame Football

Originally posted on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI
By Nick Shepkowski | Last updated May 7, 2025 12:51 PM ET

For those of us a certain age, we're familiar with the Pepsi Challenge.

You might have attended a baseball game or concert sometime in the 1990s, and outside the gate you were greeted by a Pepsi promotions worker asking you to take the challenge. Although Coca-Cola may have tasted better, the small event was used to bring more attention to Pepsi in the soda wars.

That's essentially what is going on with Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti.

The program changing head coach in Bloomington seems to think he's Pepsi and that Notre Dame is Coke, because he just can't stop talking about the Fighting Irish football program, even when not asked directly about it.

"This is an unprecedented couple of days, weeks, where everybody's waiting on this rev share, and the five or six out there that have unlimited NIL resources, it's kind of scary for everybody else," Cignetti told CBS Sports. "I think our little pot of gold is pretty nice, but we're not at $40 million. Or $30 million. Or even $25 million."

"I mean if you want to be the best, you got to be able to compete against the best," Cignetti said. "Right now I understand that is Oregon, Ohio State, Texas. ... Texas Tech because of their oil money. I think Notre Dame's up there pretty good right now, too. Miami, of course."

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Take:

Cig is turning into the new age narduzzi- always complaining about others, its a weak look for mr "google me I win"
— Always Irish ☘️ (@AlwaysIrishINC) May 6, 2025

Does Notre Dame pay its players rather well? That would appear to be obvious considering it has gone into the portal and taken the biggest available quarterbacks in recent years, but does anyone in their right mind think Notre Dame's football payroll is anywhere near $40 million?

Cignetti complaining about what's available to some but not others is rich. After all, he coaches a team that used that same exact thing to its advantage last year when it brought in transfers of players from smaller schools with obviously smaller NIL funds by the busloads to rework its program.

Oh, and about that Pepsi Challenge. Cignetti might be interested to know that Dr. Pepper has since soared past Pepsi and is now second to only Coke in the soda wars.

Perhaps the Indiana head coach should focus a bit more on building a sustained gap between Indiana and the lesser Big Ten teams than worry so much about what Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas, or the oil drillers in Lubbock are doing with their money.

This article first appeared on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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