Indiana football news: Curt Cignetti makes 'disappointed' admission on savage Josh Hoover taunt

Indiana football news: Curt Cignetti makes 'disappointed' admission on savage Josh Hoover taunt appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Indiana football head coach Curt Cignetti raised some eyebrows over a Pearl Harbor reference. Now the head coach dropped a “disappointed” admission after the narrow Northwestern win. But this one involving his quarterback Josh Hoover.

Cignetti became blunt about what he hopes to see moving forward from his QB when addressing reporters Monday.

“I don’t want him pointing like he did. I don’t condone that,” Cignetti said via Herald-Times Indiana beat writer Michael Niziolek.

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Cignetti then revealed the severity of that moment involving Hoover.

“We could have got called there for taunting, and I was disappointed to see that,” he said.

The Hoosiers have created a new swagger under Cignetti, with the program soaring to uncanny heights including winning the 2025 national title. But “Cig” is trying to keep his team humble and win with class.

Hoover has already gone viral before. The Indiana quarterback played with a busted and bloody nose in his 2026 debut. Yet stayed in and led a touchdown drive in the rout of North Texas to kick off the year.

Hoover needed to fill some big shoes, though. He grabbed the quarterback reins from the school’s first-ever Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza. Hoover has been as good as advertised so far: 850 passing yards with 11 touchdowns, plus zero interceptions. So Hoover has proven to become efficient at taking care of the football just like Mendoza.

But again, Cignetti hopes to see his new leader play with more control. Opponents will test IU moving ahead especially during Big Ten play.

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