Kansas’ playbook got a little national airtime last Saturday, and the Jayhawks’ coaches didn’t mind one bit.
Indiana coach Curt Cignetti pointed to a fourth-and-1 play-action call from the Hoosiers’ win over Nebraska - a 44-yard touchdown that ended up being the difference - and said it had roots in a Kansas concept Andy Kotelnicki helped make famous. Cignetti described it as something Indiana had “stole[n]” years ago, and the moment turned into an unexpected nod to KU’s offensive creativity.
Kotelnicki took the compliment in stride.
“I don’t know, I might have stolen that from somebody else,” Kotelnicki said of the play Cignetti appropriated. “I can’t even remember when we first started running it.”
The play in question looked familiar because Kansas had used a similar look before, including a fourth-and-1 touchdown to Jared Casey against Texas Tech in Lubbock on Nov. 12, 2022.
On that snap, Jason Bean was at quarterback for the Jayhawks. Kansas later ran a similar idea again in the Illinois game in 2023, when Jalon Daniels threw a touchdown to Casey from 5 yards out.
Cignetti didn’t stop with the Nebraska example, either. He said Indiana had also used the concept against Northwestern, though it didn’t come together exactly as planned.
“Hit Northwestern on it, fourth-and-1 on the 1, but actually called the protection backwards,” he told reporters. “I mean, yeah, they covered the guy we thought would get the ball, and Nick flashed open, and Josh found him.”
That touchdown went to Nick Marsh, with quarterback Josh Hoover finding him after wide receiver Charlie Becker and tight end Brock Schott helped occupy the coverage. Marsh’s path to Indiana added another layer to the story for KU, which was a finalist for him in the summer of 2023 before he chose Michigan State and later transferred to Indiana.
Kotelnicki and Cignetti had crossed paths before, back when Kotelnicki was at Penn State.
“He obviously has done a great job, him and his staff,” Kotelnicki said. “When I played against them when I was at the other place (Penn State), we talked before the game, just briefly. Just mutual respect for guys who do a good job coaching ball.”
Lance Leipold, too, welcomed the recognition. He said he had heard last season that Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin was interested in Kansas’ third-and-short calls.
“Even though we always don’t agree (with) everything that’s always called here, I guess some people like some of the stuff we do call,” Leipold said with a slight smile. “But as we know, when they work, we all love them.”
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