Paul Finebaum Doesn’t Hold Back On Curt Cignetti After CFP Blunder

“We don’t just beat top-25 teams, we beat the (expletive) out of them," Cignetti said on ESPN's "College GameDay" ahead of kickoff. 

In fact, Indiana did not have a top-25 win on its record entering the College Football Playoff. Nebraska, then No. 25 in coaches poll, ultimately finished at 6-6 and unranked in the final polls. 

Cignetti's comments could have been looked over if No. 10 Indiana had put up a fight against the No. 7 Irish. However, that was certainly not the case on Friday night. Notre Dame built a 27-3 fourth-quarter lead before two garbage-time touchdowns by the Hoosiers led to a 27-17 finish in South Bend. 

In an appearance on "The Matt Barrie Show" on Sunday, Finebaum said that he was bothered by Cignetti's pregame comments. 

“It just bothered me to hear Curt Cignetti run his mouth, talking like he's actually done something," he said. "What he's done is beating Purdue 66 to nothing and beating a bunch of middling teams. But he hasn't beaten a good team, and in the two games that he had against quality opposition, he got his head taken off.”

The Hoosiers came into the playoff with the second-weakest schedule in the field. Indiana lost its only ranked matchup of the regular season to Ohio State, 38-15, before falling to the Irish in decisive fashion. 

Finebaum is certainly no stranger to voicing his critiques of head coaches. And while Cignetti's comments were likely unsubstantiated, Indiana fans can hang their hats on a record-breaking 11-2 season and the first playoff appearance in program history.