"Made a complete fool out of himself" - Paul Finebaum torches Indiana's Curt Cignetti over comments on SEC's scheduling

Paul Finebaum has responded to Indiana Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti's remarks about the Southeastern Conference. Last Tuesday, Cignetti took digs at SEC teams about winning games instead of wondering why his team qualified for the College Football Playoff last season.

The college football analyst appeared on Monday's episode of "McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning" to address Cignetti's comments. Finebaum shared that he likes the Indiana coach, but believes he embarrassed himself with his comments about the SEC.

"I appreciate what he's done," Finebaum said (Timestamp: 9:52). "I appreciate what he's done in the past, but he made a complete fool out of himself trying to draw parallels. So did other coaches."

Finebaum added that he thinks Cignetti's statement wasn't delivered well and that he could've made a more compelling message against the SEC.

"If you're going after the SEC, there's places you could've attacked," Finebaum said. "But don't try to attack on the strength of schedule, and don't try to attack on the non-conference games, because we all know that Michigan two years ago played one of the most embarrassing non-conference schedules in the history of the game."

He also called the Penn State Nittany Lions' non-conference games for the 2025 season embarrassing. Penn State's first three games on their schedule will be non-conference matchups, including the Nevada Wolf Pack on Aug. 30. They'll play nine teams from the Big Ten to finish the regular season.

Cignetti is hopeful that he can lead the Hoosiers to another appearance in the College Football Playoff in his second year as coach.

Curt Cignetti's first year with the Indiana Hoosiers

Curt Cignetti's career with the Indiana Hoosiers is off to a great start heading into the 2025 season. He joined the team on Nov. 30, 2023, after five years coaching the James Madison Dukes.

Indiana finished last season with an 11-2 record. It marked a significant shift for the team, which had a 3-9 record in 2023 under Tom Allen. On Dec. 20, 2024, they suffered a 27-17 loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

Indiana fans are optimistic that he can lead the team back to the tournament and potentially compete for the national championship. He'll be without his former starting quarterback, Kurtis Rourke, who was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL draft. Rourke had 222 completions for 3,042 yards and 29 touchdowns last year.

Indiana acquired quarterback Fernando Mendoza on Dec. 24, 2024, from the transfer portal to compete for the starting role. Mendoza had 265 completions for 3,004 yards and 16 touchdowns last year with the California Golden Bears.

The Hoosiers will kick off the 2025 season in a non-conference game against the Old Dominion Monarchs on Aug. 30.