BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – One of the reasons Curt Cignetti will be on Indiana’s sideline in 2024 and Tom Allen won’t is the difference in how the two perform in close games.
In 2024, James Madison – Cignetti’s former school – was 5-1 in games decided by a single possession or less. In contrast, the Hoosiers’ record in such games was 2-4.
Cignetti also likes to tell the story of his first season at Elon. In the 2016 season, the Phoenix won all eight of their victories in games decided by a single point. Elon’s record in such games was 8-1.
Overall, Cignetti has a 20-8 record in one-point games during his time as a Division I coach. That’s no accident. Cignetti prepares for close games, especially when he’s early in his tenure and hasn’t built up his talent pool yet.
“That’s what we devote all our time and effort to,” Cignetti said during his press conference on Monday. “You know, I have a philosophy. The assistant coaches preach that philosophy. We have a way of playing the game so that at the end of the game, in those moments, we play the best football.”
“(Indiana) is talking about 11 guys doing what they’re supposed to do and the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. They have to have confidence and belief and be able to put the last play behind them, focus on the next one and do it again and again,” Cignetti added.
This philosophy may be most important in the kicking game. If Indiana wants to win the close games that Cignetti believes the Hoosiers are capable of in 2024, he will have to rely on his kickers’ reliability.
“We spent a lot of time on PATs, more than my last camps, because when you start talking about winning these close games…” Cignetti said.
Indiana has four kickers on its roster – Derek McCormick, Josh Placzek, Nico Radicic and Quinn Warren.
McCormick, a transfer with one season of eligibility, was the presumptive winner for the job, converting all but one of his 17 extra-point attempts and 10 of his 12 field-goal attempts at Louisiana-Monroe in 2023.
However, Cignetti said that the competition for the starting spot was still ongoing.
“(McCormick) is the kickoff player and is competing for the field goal job. So that was a pretty intense competition. I don’t know who’s going to come out on top,” Cignetti said. “It could be a situation where we have a field goal kicker and a guy who kicks some particularly long field goals.”
Cignetti did not indicate that he had a problem with any particular candidate, but the players’ determination will only really be tested on match day.
“They are all capable. They all have a good shot rate. Shoot the ball through the posts. Now it’s all about the pressure of the moment, you know, they have to concentrate on their technique and they have to break through the post and when they shoot the ball to the right or to the left,” said Cignetti.
The kicker spot is just one of several where someone who has won the job once usually holds it exclusively unless they get injured or their performance drops.
Given that and Cignetti’s focus on winning in close competitions, he hopes a kicker will emerge soon.
Radicic has kicked in one game for Indiana, kicking two extra points and a 21-yard field goal against Indiana State in 2023. Placzek and Warren are freshmen from Carmel, Indiana and Indianapolis, respectively.
The offseason begins in less than two weeks before the Hoosiers face Florida International on August 31.
“There is competition in all these positions and then it is important to have a rider that you ride all season. I think you want to know (who is starting),” Cignetti said.
