Curt Cignetti and the Indiana Hoosiers will be patiently waiting for an apology from the entire college football world for the way they were torn down after their loss to Notre Dame in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
The Hoosiers had to go to South Bend to take on the Fighting Irish, a very hostile environment, and while Indiana definitely struggled against Notre Dame, they looked a bit better than Georgia did. When Indiana lost, everyone said they had no business being in the playoff, especially with the way they looked against Notre Dame, but what no one wanted to say was that the Fighting Irish was clearly just a better team.
It is clear now that Notre Dame is a true frontrunner to win it all with their performance against Georgia, who they beat 23-10 today in the All-State Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. The game was postponed due to the horrific attack on Bourbon Street that tragically left 15 dead and 30 injured. The game was postponed almost 24 hours but went on in order to bring everyone together after the Superdome was deemed safe.
It was a close game up until about 30 seconds left in the second quarter, as Notre Dame only had a 6-3 lead over the Bulldogs. Georgia had the ball with 37 seconds left, but the suffocating Fighting Irish defense forced a fumble on Georgia's backup quarterback, Gunner Stockton, which was recovered by Notre Dame.
Just a second later, Notre Dame took a 13-3 lead at halftime, and little did they know that was all they would need for the rest of the game. In the second halftime, the Fighting Irish came out and allowed just one touchdown to Georgia as the defense put on an absolute clinic, and the Notre Dame offense was able to get past a tough Bulldog defense.
It looks as though Kirby Smart was clearly getting out-coached by Marcus Freeman, which is exactly what happened to Indiana and Cignetti. Even though he is young, Freeman is a top coach in college football, and it has shown so far in the College Football Playoff.
So, it is about time for the college football world to send their apologies to Indiana because it is not like Georgia looked much better against Notre Dame than the Hoosiers did. Notre Dame is simply a really good team, and the Hoosiers just ran into a buzzsaw.