CIGNETTI CONTINUES TO WIN DESPITE SPECIAL TEANS BREAKDOWN

 Weekend Stuff … college football, mostly:

THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT … from the song of the same name we give you CURT CIGNETTI, whose 4th-ranked, defending national champion Indiana Hoosiers beat Minnesota 23-16 despite enough mistakes to last a lifetime … not the least of which was one by the coach himself ... for not using No. 2 kicking specialist PADDIE McATEERsooner… For it was the transfer from Troy State who booted a 60-yard field goal – his longest ever, by far – on the last snap of regulation to force overtime … matching one a few minutes earlier from the same distance by arguably the Big Ten’s best kicker, New Mexico transfer LUKE DRZEWIEDKI, who enrolled at Minnesota in August and had made his last 25 field goal attempts (longest active streak in the nation) coming into this one.

So it was no surprise he made it 26 straight … and that, with 19 seconds left in regulation, seemingly had given the Gophers probably their biggest all-time upset … after Cignetti let the clock wind down despite having two timeouts remaining … Let the second-guessing begin (again). In fact, the former JMU coach also had to be questioning his own decision to keep sore-shouldered No. 1 QB JOSH HOOVER on the field for a half in which he consistently sailed the ball too high for his receivers or failed to lead them properly ... But, except for a trick play that left the intended receiver wide, WIDE open for the Gophers’ only touchdown, the Indiana defense limited Minnesota to three field goals by Drzeweidski … among them a 51 yarder which had been his longest as a collegian.

At intermission, Cignetti decided to replace Hoover with backup GRANT WILSON, who had seen limited duty, completing 4 of 5 passes for 74 yards, two touchdowns (0 interceptions). In his seventh collegiate campaign after previous stops at Fordham and Old Dominion U., Wilson finished 9 for 17, 156 yards, one touchdown and no INT’s ...The native Virginian from Alexandria also barely missed a touchdown pass to CHAZ PRESTON who bobbled the ball while stepping out of bounds with Minnesota up 13-10 ... It was here, with 9:11 to go, that an errant snap deprived last year’s Big 10 kicker-of-the-year NICO REDICIC of a three-point attempt from 27 yards. “The Indiana not-so-special teams have been a problem for coach Cignetti today, to say the least,” said CBS’ veteran play by play man BRAD NESSLER.

It took a perfectly-timed (a rarity for the Hoosiers in this game) 33-yard pass from Wilson to CHARLIE BECKER that forced Cignetti to make another difficult choice: Stick with Redicic who a had a 46-yard FG to tie the score at 10 late in the third quarter – and another from 34 yards to make it 13-13 with 3:05 remaining in regulation ... but also had shanked one badly in addition to having one blocked – an errant snap eliminated another three-point opportunity … or call on redshirt sophomore PADDIE McATEER, a former soccer player who delivered from 60 (with room to spare) and admitted later he had never attempted one from that far out, not even in practice or during pre-game warmups. “I’m living a dream.” McAteer said … From there Indiana ran its record to 8-1 (5-1 Big 10) when it was Wilson again to Becker, this time in the end zone, on the first possession in overtime. The defense took it from there. A 4th-and-goal sack left even Cignetti smiling (for a change).

And, why not? He won despite numerous breakdowns by special teams … including a pair of shanked punts (of 15 and 27 yards) by BILLY BOWERS, a 30 year old veteran of Australian Rules football; Becker fielding a punt inside the Hoosiers’ 5 yard line; and a holding penalty on a long punt return … as well as the previously mentioned mistakes.

“This is entertainment, so we thought we’d put some entertainment value into this game,” Cignetti told CBS’ audience. But, seriously, folks … “It was really like how many things you could do wrong and walk away with a really bad loss and then, with 19 seconds to go, wake up and throw one to the outside pocket then kick a 60-yard field goal to keep it interesting. This team just finds a way,” he added, uncharacteristically smiling the entire time.

So, tell us, coach, unlike Minnesota’s PJ Fleck who was a raving maniac from start to finish, how do you manage to keep from showing any emotion during big moments? “You’ve got to keep your cool, man,” Cignetti said. “You can’t get too emotional.”

Not so it shows, anyway.

LET’S GO, DEACS! Boy, did Wake Forest lay waste to your Virginia Cavaliers, or what? ...The home standing, 14th-ranked Demon Deacons scored on their first eight possessions and led 44-0 before UVA scored with time left in the THIRD quarter to avoid being shutout for the first time since 2017… The final score was 51-7 as Wake ran its record to 7-1 (5-1 in the ACC) while Virginia dropped its third in a row to fall to 4-5, 2-4…. And, just like that, the Cavaliers have gone from being nationally ranked to no guarantees they’ll make it to one of the no-longer-relevant, nondescript bowl games.

“I don’t know where [VA coach] TONY ELLIOTT goes from here,” said ESPN/ACC Network’s BROCK OSWEILER. “Searching for answers is probably the best and nicest way to put it. I’ll be honest I’m a bit surprised the way this game played out. Here was Virginia, with their backs against the wall, I thought we would see their best effort … but you need to credit Wake Forest who came out with bad intensions and great focus.” … Since Elliott became head coach in 2022, only once have the Cavaliers been held without a touchdown. In his second game, they lost 24-3 at Ilinois.

While he was at it,  Osweiller noted Deacs’ coach Jake Dickert, in his second season in Winston-Salem, might not be around for a third. “I don’t want to jinx anything for anyone … but when you look at his body of work … 15-5 overall record coming into this one … the only loss to the nation’s No. 1 team [Miami] ... yeah, for lack of resources and other things, it’s going to be difficult to keep someone like that moving forward.”

BRIEFLY TOLD – As expected, Florol\ida State fired football coach MIKE NORVELL yesterday (Nov. 1) after the Seminoles lost 36-24 to Clemson to fall to 3-5 and in danger of not going to a bowl game for the third straight year. He will receive a parting gift of $10.3 million. RICK STOCKSTILL, who was on Norvell’ staff as “offensive analyst,” will serve as interim coach ... Calling them “a Final Four sleeper,” Virginia’s Cavaliers were ranked 12^th in the New York Post’s men’s bastrom the ACC are Duke (4), Louisville (7) and North Carolina (10). The tabloid has South Carolina, coached by former UVA All-American  DAWN STALEY, at No.1, with UConn’s Huskies under one-time Cavaliers’ assistant coach GENO AUERRIEMA, rated No. 2 … For the second time in five years, major eague baseball appears destined for a delay of spring training – and possibly the regular season as well – because the players and owners can not come together on a new bargaining agreement. The old one expires Dec. 1, with the owners reportedly prepared for a lockout if the players do not agree to a salary cap.

Umtil next time ...