College Football Playoff: Notre Dame vs. Indiana, 2 teams with 2 different states of being
There's one thing Marcus Freeman and Curt Cignetti agree on ahead of Friday night's standalone College Football Playoff game in South Bend.
Make the right plays, and you earn a Sugar Bowl date with Georgia next.
"It's ultimately going to come down to execution," Freeman said Wednesday.
"Production over potential; you've heard me say it a million times," Cignetti said Wednesday. "It worked for us."
Easier said than done, always. Both the Hoosiers and Irish have made it seem that way this season. The two have a combined 22-2 record in the 2024 regular season ahead of their CFP showdown.
While Indiana and Notre Dame are similar in their records, they're opposites in presentation.
The Irish have taken a more stoic approach to how they openly carry themselves. It's not because they believe they're better than their opponent, it's because they've been playing with their backs against the wall since Week 2.
When Notre Dame lost to Northern Illinois as a 28-point favorite, every game after it was a CFP elimination game. Lose at any point, and ND would not get a playoff berth. The Irish then rallied 10-straight wins.
Freeman was asked Wednesday about overlooking a team like Indiana which is not a college football blue blood program like Ohio State, Michigan, or even Notre Dame. The Irish learned early on the horrors of overlooking an opponent. It almost ended their season.
The lessons learned from that loss shaped the Notre Dame team that'll host a College Football Playoff game.
"That’s what we’ve got to continue to focus on is how we prepare, and they’re going to be ready to roll there," Freeman said. "What an honor and a great environment is going to be on Friday. They’ll be ready to go, but I just want to make sure we continue to finish these last hours with the right preparation."
On the other sideline, Indiana carries itself with confidence. The kind that its head coach brought with him from James Madison.
It's not boisterous. It's not disrespectful. It's a statement, much like Cignetti's now-famed "I win, Google me" statement.
Those that find it distasteful were most likely one of Indiana's 11 victims this season. The confidence lies in Cignetti proving he's a winner.
Case in point, when Cignetti was asked about Coach of the Year honors this season he snuck an answer about whispers he heard about some who doubted the Hoosiers' resume.
"I hear we haven't beaten a top 25 team," Cignetti said. "When we played Nebraska, they were 25th in the coaches poll. We were 18th. We beat them 56-7."
These two demeanors will show out at a frigid Notre Dame Stadium. If there ever was a more perfect
These two teams aren't thinking about their long-term narratives: is IU rising into a power under Cignetti and is Freeman earning some blue blood status at Notre Dame?
The time for that can wait.
Indiana and Notre Dame might have opposite demeanors, but they're both playing in the College Football Playoff for a reason. The talk about both programs persists, but the two are focused on the task at hand.
"Looking forward to this match up against a really good football team," Cignetti said.
What to watch for - Notre Dame vs. Indiana
Notre Dame's rushing attack averages 6.3 yards per carry.
Indiana's defense has held its opponents to 2.5 yards per carry.
Something's got to give.
The story here is also twofold. The Irish's offensive line has come a long way since the question marks they've had due to constant injuries that put backups in starting roles. Indiana has a stout defensive front led by multiple James Madison transfers who followed Cignetti to Bloomington.
Whichever of the two units – either IU's defensive line or ND's offensive line – controls the line of scrimmage is the team that'll have the upper hand.
Prediction: Notre Dame 24, Indiana 14