Curt Cignetti feels Indiana 'dominated the game' vs ODU, but wasn't 'reflective in the scoreboard'. He knows that needs to change.

Indiana opened up the 2025 season with a win on Saturday but it wasn’t in pretty fashion, according to the scoreboard. A 27-14 final score over Old Dominion didn’t showcase just how ‘dominant’ Indiana was and head coach Curt Cignetti wants that to change immediately.

“A little bit like Groundhog Day, to be honest,” Cignetti said on Monday. “Like FIU (last year), dominate the game, not reflective in the scoreboard. Not happy with the way the offense played in the second half of FIU in the red area in this game, and the fans left at halftime. But it all felt like Groundhog Day to me.”

With expectations and excitement level at an all-time high for the Indiana fan base, the anxious energy and feeling of ‘wanting more’ was all too noticeable all afternoon.

And after spending the last 36 hours diving into film, Cignetti didn’t mince words when breaking down Indiana’s dominance, while also emphasizing his frustration in the team’s execution.

“I’m never going to apologize for a win. They’re too hard to get. Same team that should have beat South Carolina last year in the opener,” Cignetti said. “(We) Really dominated the game. Not reflected in the score. I mean, we probably left 35 points out there on offense with six possessions inside the 10, primarily the goal line offense and the 5 in — dropped a touchdown pass, overthrew a touchdown pass, fumbled going in.”

Indiana outgained Old Dominion 502-314, but limited the Monarchs to just 3.7 yards per play outside of the 75 and 78-yard touchdown runs by quarterback Colton Joseph. Indiana had 17 more first downs, 44 more plays, had the ball for 30+ more minutes and forced three interceptions.

On the flip side, Indiana had a fumble while driving in ODU’s territory, went just 4-of-7 in the redzone and struggled in goal-to-go situations — turning the ball over on downs on its first possession and then being held to a field goal on its third possession while on the four yard line.

“Had the game in total control. It’s just a matter of what the score would be, and really expected a 45, 52-7 type game at that point. And we didn’t do it on offense,” Cignetti emphasized. “I mean, we won the time of possession, 41.5 to 18.5. First downs, 30 to 10. Had 310 yards rush. Won the turnover battle 3-1. End of the half, beginning of the third, won 14-0. Good on third down, punt return for touchdown.”

Indiana didn’t trail in a game until its ninth game of the season last year. It took one play for the Hoosiers to trail in 2025.

Indiana was one of the best teams in the nation last year in redzone efficiency and second in the country in points per game.

While it was a win — it’s clear that the raised expectations played into the subdued excitement level throughout and after the game.

“Look, it’s a win. It’s a two-score win. But we left a lot out there,” Cignetti said. “And it’s good that we’ve gotten to the point where people’s expectations are such that they’re not happy with just wins. But at the end of the day, they all count as one win.

“Gotta make the plays on offense. Gotta get better, period all the way around. Gotta get better. And we should get much better this week.”

Standards are different this season and Saturday’s win showcased just that.

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