As you’ve probably learned via your favorite search engine, Curt Cignetti wins.
Pick your stretch of success for Cignetti ahead of the Ohio State game — no losing seasons, 22 straight overall, 19 straight at home, or how about this — 47 of his last 50 games were wins going back to the 2022 season.
But as you were reminded Saturday, sometimes Cignetti does in fact lose.
So we wondered, what happens after a Cignetti loss?
Overall in his 16 years as a head coach, Cignetti is 152-38 (.800) . After the first 37 losses he has gone 17-10 (.630) during games played in the same season. 10 of his losses came in the final game of the year and thus not really connected to the next game. 9 of the 10 end of season losses came in a postseason playoff format.
17-10 doesn’t seem particularly impressive by Cignetti standards. But while he’s never had a losing season, Cignetti’s early teams at IUP and Elon weren’t nearly as dominant as his James Madison and Indiana squads.
In seven-plus seasons at JMU and IU, Cignetti is 5-2 in games after losses, with four more losses coming at the end of the season.
And here’s what you need to know about those two losses in that 5-2 mark. JMU actually lost three games in a row in 2022. The second of the three straight losses came when starting quarterback Todd Centeio was injured and did not play against Old Dominion. And then the following week the Dukes lost at Power 4 Louisville after being tied at halftime.
Those were JMU’s only losses of the 2022 season. Cignetti’s 47-3 run started the week after that loss at Louisville, and he hasn’t lost consecutive games since — now going on four full calendar years.
Here’s a season-by-season summary.
Curt Cignetti’s Record After Losses:
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
2011: 2-1
2012: 1-0 (1 loss at end of season)
2013: 1-1
2014: 2-2 (1 at end)
2015: 2-0 (1 at end)
2016: 1-0 (1 at end)
Elon
1-2 (1 at end)
2-2 (1 at end)
James Madison
2019: 1-0 (1 at end)
2020: 1 at end
2021: 1-0 (1 at end)
2022: 1-2
2023: 1-0
Indiana
2024: 1-0 (1 at end)
2025: No losses
2026: ?
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