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Female CBS Reporter Makes Grumpy Curt Cignetti Finally Laugh; Calls it Mission Accomplished
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- Female CBS Reporter Makes Grumpy Curt Cignetti Finally Laugh; Calls it Mission Accomplished
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Curt Cignetti doesn't smile on the sideline. Ask anyone who has watched an Indiana game or scrolled past the meme of his blank stare during a 66-0 rout of Purdue. After Saturday's 23-16 overtime escape over Minnesota, Cignetti cracked a smile as CBS reporter Jenny Dell handed him a Baby Ruth candy bar to make it happen.
Dell posted the moment on her Instagram with a caption that read, "Mission: Make Cignetti laugh. Status: ACCOMPLISHED." She had a Baby Ruth in her pocket, Cignetti's favorite, and pulled it out during his postgame interview following Indiana's win over Minnesota.
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"All right, I got one way to make this a little sweeter," Dell said, according to an X post by Awful Announcing. "Your favorite candy, Baby Ruth. Congratulations, Coach. Hey, Baby Ruth, he called his shot. That's a smile."
Cignetti's stoic demeanor is deliberate, and he has said as much. Before the Peach Bowl in January, he told reporters, "I do smile. And I am happy at times." His reasoning was that if he asked his players to play every snap the same way, he couldn't be high-fiving on the sideline. Cignetti is also making clock and timeout calls, so he stays locked into the game.
The celebrating, he says, happens "later in the coaches' room," maybe with a beer. The internet has a field day with his sideline demeanor, creating memes about him being robotic. Even former Indiana All-American linebacker Aiden Fisher has said his grandparents send him the memes.
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Cignetti is 35-3 at Indiana, and the Hoosiers won the national title last season. He reportedly broke down in tears after that win, marking one of the few times he has let the mask slip in public. Dell then briefly dropped the playful tone and pressed him on his composure, asking whether he consciously works to keep his emotions in check during big moments.
"I tell you what, you got to stay cool, man. Can't get too emotional," Cignetti said.
Indiana (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten) didn't look like a title team for most of Saturday. Josh Hoover went 8-of-19 for 119 yards and a pick before taking a hard hit late in the first half. Grant Wilson came in after halftime.
Special teams were a mess, with two poorly hit punts that led to Minnesota scores, a blocked field goal, and a bad snap on another attempt. Minnesota's Luke Drzewiecki hit a 60-yarder with 19 seconds left to make it 16-13.
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Then the game flipped. Wilson hit Charlie Becker for 33 yards, and Paddy McAteer drilled a 60-yarder of his own as time expired. On the first play of overtime, Wilson found Becker again for a 25-yard touchdown.
Jeff Utzinger and Tobi Osunsanmi sealed the victory with back-to-back sacks on Drake Lindsey. Indiana didn't control the game, as it barely survived on Saturday.
"Well, this is entertainment… It was really like how many things you could do wrong and walk away with a really bad loss. And then finally, with 19 seconds to go, we woke up… This team just finds a way," Cignetti said, according to an X post by Awful Announcing.
This is the third time in four games the Hoosiers have needed a fourth-quarter comeback, and they now get a bye week. Hoover's health remains the biggest question, with USC visiting on November 14.
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