Curt Cignetti expresses frustration with college football calendar amid playoff schedule

The eight teams still remaining in the College Football Playoff are going to see a quick turnaround following their games and the start of the NCAA transfer portal. The quarterfinals will be played on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, and the portal opens on Jan. 2.

Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti is one of the several head coaches having to deal with CFP fallout, followed by the portal opening a few hours later. Ahead of the Rose Bowl, Cignetti expressed his frustration with the current schedule in college football.

“I definitely think the calendar could be improved,” Cignetti said. “And that would be unanimous amongst the coaches. Whether you got to move the start of the regular season up a week and start playing in the playoffs when the season ends so there’s a little bit better time to devote to high school recruiting and portal recruiting, we’re all looking, I think, for that solution.

“What you’re doing within college football is just you don’t have one guy in charge. If you had one person calling the shots, I think it would be a lot cleaner. So hopefully we’ll make some progress in that regard.”

In the Hoosiers’ case, they have a 4 p.m. ET kickoff vs. Alabama in the Rose Bowl. Regardless of the outcome, the transfer portal opens at midnight for both teams. Either Cignetti, or Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer, will be dealing with major disappointment after a loss. The other will be starting bowl prep for the national semifinal.

The overlap has shaped the decision-making process in the coaching carousel following the regular season. Three head coaches — Lane Kiffin (Ole Miss–LSU), Jon Sumrall (Tulane–Florida) and Bob Chesney (James Madison–UCLA) –ended up taking their next job before their team played in the College Football Playoff.

Sumrall and Chesney wore two hats during their respective CFP preparation in order to build their staff and maintain recruits in time for the portal to open. Kiffin, who was not allowed to coach Ole Miss in the playoff, has had his sole focus on LSU since being hired earlier this month.

The NCAA transfer portal will be open for 15 days, closing on Jan. 16 — three days before the national championship on Jan. 19. Additionally, the transfer portal is open for five extra days for players competing in the title game.

Cignetti isn’t the first coach to take issue with the current college football schedule this season. That said, if changes aren’t made — he won’t be the last.