Indiana’s decision to walk away from its Notre Dame series says plenty about where Curt Cignetti’s program is headed - and it’s the kind of move that will have Ohio State fans nodding along.
The Hoosiers had been looking to back out of the Notre Dame games scheduled for 2030 and 2031 for some time, and that became official on Monday. On3’s Pete Nakos confirmed the cancellation after Notre Dame brought its USC rivalry back into the picture.
On3’s Chris Low added the kind of context that makes the move look even more revealing. “Got the feeling when I was in Bloomington this summer that the Indiana-Notre Dame series scheduled for 2030 and 2031 would not survive. Indiana AD Scott Dolson told me the Hoosiers were continuing to evaluate their scheduling approach as the playoff format, etc. evolves,” Low said.
That kind of line has been floating around for weeks, and it paints a pretty clear picture: Indiana was already planning its exit. For a program that has leaned hard into the image of a rising force, it’s a sharp reminder that the Hoosiers are thinking first about making the College Football Playoff, not about keeping marquee non-conference games on the calendar.
And that’s why this matters to Ohio State fans. The Buckeyes have their own future schedule battles to think about, and Indiana’s move is a cautionary example of how quickly a program can start trimming the risk.
There’s also no escaping the contrast in scheduling philosophy. Indiana’s recent non-conference stretches have included FIU, Western Illinois, Charlotte, Old Dominion, Kennesaw State, and Indiana State.
Old Dominion and Kennesaw State are, to be fair, good Sun Belt and Conference USA teams. But that’s not the same thing as what Ohio State is staring at in 2026, and it’s not close.
For all the noise Cignetti makes about the SEC, Indiana still hasn’t shown a habit of lining up the toughest possible games year after year. That’s the part that makes this Notre Dame cancellation stand out.
The broader Big Ten picture only sharpens the contrast. Ohio State has taken on Texas, Notre Dame, and Oregon in recent years, with Oregon still in the Pac-12 at the time. Michigan has played Texas and Oklahoma recently, and Iowa keeps meeting Iowa State every year.
Indiana, meanwhile, is stepping away from an in-state rivalry that would have carried real weight. The message is hard to miss: the Hoosiers are trying to keep the path as manageable as possible.
That approach fits the way Cignetti has carried himself. He has been one of the least humble coaches in the sport, but the swagger has worked because Indiana just put together one of the best seasons college football has ever seen. That run included final wins over Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon, and Miami.
Still, the long-term risk is obvious. If Indiana becomes the team that avoids the best games on the schedule, the shine eventually comes off. And when that happens, the blowback tends to show up sooner or later.
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