PASADENA, Calif. — Curt Cignetti’s perpetual seriousness has become a big part of the Indiana coach’s burgeoning lore.
His ever-glowering face on the sideline has sparked countless memes and has come to personify the sharp-eyed, no-nonsense manner in which his Hoosiers have rocketed to the top of the college football world in just two seasons.
With a couple of minutes left in No. 1 Indiana’s 38-3 thrashing of 11th-ranked, ninth-seeded Alabama of the Southeastern Conference in the College Football Playoff’s Rose Bowl quarterfinal on New Year’s Day, Cignetti allowed himself a broad smile that was captured by TV cameras. He showed a few teeth again on the awards stage while the Hoosiers celebrated their first bowl victory since 1991 — this one in the 112th edition of “The Granddady Of Them All” — with confetti and roses.
Indiana receiver Elijah Sarratt said it was “just about” the biggest smile he’d ever seen from his coach.
“You won’t be getting too much of those from Coach Cig, so any time you get one, you’ve got to appreciate it,” Sarratt said with a laugh.