IU

Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti keeping same format he used at JMU for spring game

Portrait of Michael Niziolek Michael Niziolek
The Herald-Times

BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football announced additional details for next week’s spring game on Thursday afternoon. It's the program's first spring exhibition since 2019.

The Hoosiers will host an exhibition at Memorial Stadium that will air live on the Big Ten Network at 8 p.m. Matt Schumacker, Rhett Lewis and Pay Boylan will be calling the game for the network. 

It will be IU’s third scrimmage and 13th practice overall, two shy of the maximum allowed by the NCAA. 

Indiana’s new coach Curt Cignetti is sticking to the same format for the game that he used at James Madison with the offense facing the defense, and a special scoring format: 

  • Touchdown - 6 points
  • Extra Point - 1 point
  • Field Goal - 3 points
  • Turnover Gained - 4 points
  • Defensive Stop - 3 points
  • Safety - 2 points

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While some schools draft unique rosters and split their coaching staff up for the spring game, this format allows IU players to continue getting reps with the teammates they have been working with throughout spring practice. 

“It builds all-around better chemistry for us, you get more bang for your buck that way,” Indiana tight end Zach Horton told The Herald-Times. “You know how stuff is going to run when you aren’t just drafting new people to play alongside.”

Horton said it’s produced some spirited games in the past. Last year, James Madison’s defense pulled off a 24-22 win over the offense in the final seconds of the exhibition by getting a stop. 

Cignetti has previously said the game would scrimmage for two full quarters. 

“It's something new for Indiana,” Horton said. “Seeing the new coaches and new players, I think there will be a lot of excitement, at prime time. Just seeing what coach Cig can bring and what type of players we got and how things are going to be run, it should be fun.”

Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.