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    “You can’t use that” — the viral Curt Cignetti moment before he arrived at IU

    Mike SchumannBy IU Football 5 Comments

    The viral moments started before Curt Cignetti showed up in Bloomington.

    Did you know — in his last season at James Madison, Cignetti took the video replay review process into his own hands?

    Literally.

    On Sept. 23, 2023, Utah State scored a touchdown on a fake field goal against JMU to the delight of the home crowd.

    But Cignetti thought Aggies kicker Elliott Nimrod had stepped out-of-bounds and had the play reviewed.

    The referees went to the JMU sideline to tell Cignetti the touchdown was upheld.

    And in that moment, a James Madison staffer handed Cignetti a phone he felt showed Nimrod out-of-bounds.

    The frustrated then 62-year-old coach proceeded to show the phone to the referees.

    There was just one problem — phones are not allowed on the sidelines.

    “You can’t use that,” the television announcer said — and he was right.

    But as Indiana fans have come to realize, sometimes Cignetti’s impulses get the best of him.

    “In the heat of the moment, somebody comes up and sticks a cell phone in my hand and says, ‘Here. it shows it,’” Cignetti said, recapping the incident during the Sun Belt Conference Coach’s Media Call the following week. “You’re not allowed to have that kind of technology on the sideline or use it. It shouldn’t have happened. I was so immersed in the situation that I grabbed the phone. I shouldn’t have done that.”

    The Sun Belt Conference issued a public reprimand to JMU as a result of the incident.

    “The guy that gave me the phone feels awful about it,” said Cignetti. “It certainly has gotten a lot of attention.”

    The play was just the beginning of a frustrating stretch for Cignetti, and highlights why he often looks angry on the sideline with a big lead.

    The fake field goal touchdown fueled a massive Utah State rally, as a 24-0 JMU lead ultimately became a 38-all second half tie.

    It took a 74-yard pass from James Madison with a little less than six minutes remaining to secure a fourth consecutive victory to open the season.

    Two months later Cignetti turned his attention to a phone once again.

    It was IU AD Scott Dolson calling.

    For complete coverage of IU football, GO HERE.

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