Curt Cignetti Issued Stern Warning After Indiana Narrowly Beat Michigan

The Indiana Hoosiers found a way to come away with a gritty overtime win over the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday. However, it wasn't exactly the most convincing performance by any means, leading to some concerns about the Hoosiers moving forward.

Offense was a struggle for both teams in this defensive battle on Saturday between Michigan and Indiana. While it was ultimately Indiana that made the plays that they needed to in overtime, putting up just 212 total yards of offense isn't particularly inspiring.

While some may credit the Michigan defense, which allows the fewest total yards per game in the Big Ten, others believe that the struggles of Indiana reflect more on what the Hoosiers aren't doing correctly.

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Discussing Indiana's win on Saturday, CBS Sports college football analyst Damien Harris explained that he was "disappointed" in what he saw from the Hoosiers and believes that their offense just "has not been enough".

"It's not winning football," said CBS college football analyst Damien Harris. "I'm disappointed, to say the least. Because there is a lot of experience for this Indiana offense. Charlie Becker is starting to creep back to the back of the line. We talked so much about Nick Marsh and the play he didn't make last week. Well, Charlie Becker, you gotta step up. Three catches for 32 yards in a big-time Big Ten game. That is not going to get it done. The run game, to everybody's point, it has not been enough.

Harris would go on to particularly point to quarterback Josh Hoover as a potential problem that Curt Cignetti needs to prioritize fixing.

"The offense isn't generating any kind of production," added Harris. "All of that falls on the quarterback because he is the guy that touches the ball on every snap. When you throw the ball 20 times, you want to complete more than eight of them. For more than 80 yards in a big-time matchup. There are a lot of problems for this Indiana offense. It is uncharacteristic because usually they have answers for every problem that can come up. Curt Cignetti needs to find an answer for what's going on with Josh Hoover."

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Cignetti himself largely echoed the same sentiments as Harris did after the game, even mentioning how he considered benching Josh Hoover in favor of No. 2 quarterback Grant Wilson. So it sure seems like Cignetti knows that things need to improve to truly contend amongst the top teams in college football.

With this in mind, it may be interesting to monitor how short of a leash Hoover has if he continues to struggle down the stretch of the 2026 season.

Cignetti and the Indiana Hoosiers will look to make improvements offensively the next time they take the field, which will come in Week 9 when they return home to host the Minnesota Golden Gophers.