In his first 12 months on the helm, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti injected a degree of confidence that the soccer program had by no means skilled. An historic win complete adopted, and Cignetti has solely grown bolder within the months since.
However Cignetti lately introduced that Indiana could be canceling a home-and-home sequence in opposition to Virginia in favor of including some FCS opponents as a substitute. Cignetti was swiftly criticized for avoiding robust competitors to be able to give himself a neater schedule.
When pressed by the media, Cignetti made it clear that he sees his 9 Large Ten video games as extra essential. He stated that determined to “undertake an SEC scheduling philosophy” by having a number of Group of 5 opponents or an FCS opponent.
“That was a scheduling philosophy that started earlier than I used to be employed. However I did log off on it upon being employed, earlier than our first season,” Cignetti stated at Large Ten Media Days. “Look, right here’s the underside line. We picked up an additional house recreation and we play 9 convention video games. The 2 finest conferences in faculty soccer – any soccer man that’s goal will let you know – [are] the Large Ten and the SEC. Twelve of the 16 SEC groups play three G5 or an FCS recreation. Twelve of these groups play 36 video games – 29 G5 video games and 7 FCS video games, and one much less convention recreation.
“So we figured we’d simply undertake [an] SEC scheduling philosophy. Some individuals don’t prefer it. I’m extra centered in on these 9 convention video games.”
NEW: Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti takes shot at SEC in protection of canceled non-conference sequence with Virginia: "We determine we'd undertake an SEC scheduling philosophy."https://t.co/EYCVvEDx2E pic.twitter.com/gQWrQJou7T
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Followers shortly made it clear that they see Cignetti as a stat-padder, attempting to farm some simple wins earlier than inevitably getting crushed by the top-tier Large Ten groups:
“Ah sure Indiana who performed one ranked group final 12 months and misplaced by 23,” one consumer remarked.
“The irony in that is if any SEC group scheduled Indiana as a non-(convention) recreation, they’d get clowned for including a weak group by the SEC hate membership,” one other remarked.
“This take is so drained and flat out incorrect. No one is a fan of the November cupcake recreation, however nearly each SEC group has a Florida State, Clemson or Ohio State on the schedule as nicely. Any analyst who’s hyping up or agreeing with Curt on these feedback is both a hater or lazy.”
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Curt Cignetti has already succeeded in making Indiana a extra related soccer program than its been in many years. However the hole between Indiana and the actual powerhouses of faculty soccer remains to be monumental.
He will have a tough time closing that hole if he would not give his gamers expertise in opposition to groups with that degree of expertise.
Associated: Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti Simply Known as Out SEC Groups
