Has Indiana Football Clinched First Round Bye in CFP? Cignetti Not Expecting 'Any Handouts'

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The answer, really, seems simple.

No. 1 Ohio State (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten) and No. 2 Indiana football (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten) meet in the Big Ten championship game at 8 p.m. Saturday inside Lucas Oil Stadium in a battle of unbeatens.

The winner gets the top seed in the College Football Playoff. The loser? Common logic suggests the fall from grace won't be far, and a first-round bye and automatic trip to the CFP quarterfinals is still on schedule.

But Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said he doesn't think either team should enter Saturday with reassurance it will get a bye if it loses.

"I think you're playing this game for a reason," Cignetti said Sunday on Zoom with reporters. "A Big Ten championship means an awful lot, and I think the way you play should mean something, because it's a game. It'll be the last thing you put on the field, and I don't expect any handouts.

"We've earned everything up to this point, and we've got to earn it on Saturday."

Cignetti has been part of No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups on conference championship weekend before. While he was an assistant coach at Alabama in 2008 and 2009, Cignetti stood on the sidelines for the Crimson Tide's matchups with Florida, which had coach Urban Meyer and quarterback Tim Tebow.

Florida won the first meeting. Alabama won the second. Cignetti expects a high-level matchup with a great atmosphere, and his sole focus is on Saturday, not the road resting beyond it.

"I don't think there's much balance there," Cignetti said. "We're treating this like a one-game season. It's the next opponent. If we get done what we want to get done, we won't play again for 30 days. And there'll be plenty of time to recover from our bumps and bruises, etc.

"Either way, coming out of this game, there will be a response to how you played and the result in preparation for the next opponent."

From a program perspective, Indiana doesn't have the same big-game experience as Cignetti. The Hoosiers have never won the Big Ten title, let alone played in the conference championship game, which debuted in 2011.

Cignetti has re-written the Hoosiers' history book through his first two seasons. He's looking to make more history Saturday night — and while opportunity also exists to set new records and win new trophies down the road, his sightline is filled with scarlet and gray.

"This game means an awful lot," Cignetti said. "It's a Big Ten championship. It's a great conference. We're playing a great opponent. So, all eyes and focus are in preparation toward this game."