On a typical regular season road trip, IU coach Curt Cignetti likes to arrive late the night before the game and limit disruption to his team’s weekly routine.
But the College Football Playoff and the Rose Bowl provide little opportunity for situation normal.
Indiana arrived in Los Angeles late Monday evening east coast time, and almost the entire team had media obligations the following morning.
The Hoosiers did practice in Los Angeles Tuesday afternoon, but going into the final day of prep, nothing has felt quite right to Cignetti since the Hoosiers touched down in California.
That’s left Cignetti feeling a bit unnerved by potential stones that have gone unturned amid the distractions.
“A lot to do today from a preparation standpoint,” Cignetti said Wednesday morning. “The last two days have been fairly disruptive, with the travel day and then a first practice on site. So, as the leader, the head coach, I feel there’s a lot of loose ends we’ve got to tie together today.
“I feel the sense of urgency, like, to get it right today, to get everybody thinking the way we want them to think.”
With media obligations for three days in a row for most of the players and coaches, and practice on location, the game buildup has a Super Bowl feel. For a perfectionist who is manic about blocking out the noise and clutter, the second-year IU head coach acknowledges this week has been suboptimal from a preparation standpoint.
“Let’s face it, this is a playoff game. It’s a football game, right,” Cignetti added. “And I think both teams would like to be able to kind of go through their routine and process like they do for every football game and not have this disruption.
“It is what it is. We made the best of it. We both had to go through it.”
Indiana faces Alabama at 4 p.m. ET Thursday, and of course as Cignetti suggests, the Crimson Tide have faced the same disruptions and distractions.
“It’s certainly different because you would have traveled normally today,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said Wednesday. “But you just adjust. Like Coach said, you just adjust to what it is and make the most of it.”
WEATHER TRENDING FAVORABLY
Another uncontrollable looming over this game has been the weather.
Forecasts earlier in the week were calling for a 100% chance of rain during the game.
But the forecast as of Wednesday afternoon shows a 70% of rain at kickoff in Pasadena, and declining chances and only light winds as the game proceeds.
No. 1 Indiana (13-0) and No. 9 Alabama (11-3) kick at 4 p.m. ET Thursday in Pasadena, Calif. (ESPN).
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