Early on against Michigan State, the Indiana Hoosiers are facing the kind of adversity they haven't been used to this year. Ahead of the tilt with MSU, Indiana is a perfect 8-0 and the No. 13 team in the country. They've looked brilliant, but things aren't off to a great start against the Spartans.
In the first quarter, the home team jumped out to a 10-0 lead after wideout Nick Marsh came down with an incredible 18-yard touchdown pass from young quarterback Aidan Chiles. Marsh clearly got a foot down, but Cignetti decided to challenge the call anyway.
What Cignetti has been able to do this year has been remarkable, but he dropped the ball with this decision. It was an easy call for the officials to confirm. Just like that, Indiana lost a timeout and their challenge for the rest of the game. This was a head-scratching mistake from Cignetti:
NICK MARSH 🙌 @MSU_Football extends their lead against No. 13 Indiana.#B1GFootball on Peacock 📺 pic.twitter.com/4aBj5x9lvH
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) November 2, 2024
Curt Cignetti wasting a challenge has Indiana fans upset
We can only hope this decision doesn't come back to haunt Indiana later on in this contest. Thankfully, as we have been writing this article, quarterback Kurtis Rourke and the offense have woken up a bit, scoring to cut the deficit to 10-7.
Rourke has missed some time due to a thumb injury, but he's back on the field hoping to remind everyone that he can still throw the ball all over the field. Things are close between MSU and Indiana, which is not what fans expected for this one.
However, the offense should get into a groove as we get deeper into this contest. As for Cignetti, this could prove to be a small hiccup in yet another Big Ten victory for his team. We sure hope that will turn out to be the case, as Indiana should be able to take care of business vs. MSU.