Curt Cignetti Unhappy with 'Disruption' of Indiana Football Schedule Before Rose Bowl

LOS ANGELES — Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti held a long, blank stare toward the back of the press conference room Wednesday morning at the Sheraton Grand hotel in Los Angeles.

To his left, on the other side of a floral arrangement of roses and the Rose Bowl Game trophy, Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer lauded the heights Cignetti has taken the Hoosiers.

"Coach and Indiana certainly deserve where they're ranked," DeBoer said. "There's a zero at the end of their record right now. So, no one's beat them."

But Cignetti paid no mind. There was no smile, no head nod. Merely a straight-faced, wide-eyed stare.

In Cignetti's dream world, he wouldn't have been in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning. He and the No. 1 Hoosiers (13-0) would still be in Bloomington, doing a walk-through before their afternoon flight to the west coast.

That's Indiana's normal road game schedule. But before the Hoosiers' biggest game this season — and perhaps in program history — they were forced to stray from the routine, the itinerary, that powered them to the school's first No. 1 ranking.

"The last two days have been fairly disruptive, with the travel day and then a first practice on site," Cignetti said during his opening statement Wednesday morning. "So, as the leader, the head coach, I feel there's a lot of loose ends we've got to tie together today."

Indiana entirely altered its normal operating schedule to adjust to playing on a Thursday. After a 12-day wait to learn the outcome of No. 8 Oklahoma vs. No. 9 Alabama on Dec. 19, the Hoosiers knew late on a Friday night they'd be facing Alabama.

Subsequently, Indiana turned the ensuing Saturday into its normal Sunday. The calendar advanced by a day to counteract the abnormal nature of finding out, and preparing for, the next opponent.

Indiana arrived in Los Angeles on Monday, three days before Thursday's game. With Cignetti's makeshift calendar, Monday took the place of a typical Wednesday practice.

That, however, is where the calendar proved problematic — and carried over into a substandard first practice Tuesday at Dignity Health Sports Park, just south of Los Angeles.

"Our travel day really was a Wednesday. Up until that day, I really liked where we were," Cignetti said. "I didn't think we had a great practice the travel day because we had to move everything up. And the players, on a travel day, they're used to having a walk-through.

"And then we got here, and we've never had a great practice first day on site, ever. And it wasn't a horrible practice, but it didn't meet the standard. So that's why I feel the sense of urgency, like, to get it right today, to get everybody thinking the way we want them to think."

Cignetti acknowledged both teams had to go through it — Alabama arrived a few hours before Indiana on Monday evening before the two programs endured a 45-minute media session Tuesday morning — so it's not inherently a disadvantage. The Hoosiers, he said, made the best of it.

DeBoer, meanwhile, appeared content with Alabama's practice Tuesday.

"I thought it was good energy, that's what I really look for," DeBoer said Wednesday. "There was a stress in communication and all that. I thought they came with the right intention. Doesn't mean it was perfectly crisp. That's why you practice and just always trying to get better. So we continue to refine the game plan and pay attention to the details.

"I had guys in this morning already asking about certain things. They're just trying to make sure they're completely on the same page with what we're trying to do. So, I have an appreciation for our players and the intentions they have. We've got to take the next step today."

Indiana and Alabama will go to battle at 4 p.m. ET Thursday at Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, with the game set to be televised on ESPN.

The Rose Bowl is one of college football's most historic games, and it occurs at one of the country's most historic stadiums. Cignetti, however, has a brief thought for future improvements directed toward the College Football Playoff scheduling body.

"Let's face it, this is a playoff game," Cignetti said. "And I think both teams would like to be able to kind of go through their routine and process like they do for every football game and not have this disruption."

Cignetti believes, or at least hopes, the contract reads differently next year. But for now, he's focused on the task at hand — and is hopeful the current setup, with all its disruption, won't haunt the Hoosiers.