Curt Cignetti takes apparent shot at SEC while singing Big Ten praises: 'We don't cry a river' originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.College football's return is near, and debates centering on the SEC's might are already underway.Some SEC coaches, including Lane Kiffin, have complained about the SEC's new nine-game conference schedule, arguing it will keep more SEC teams out of the playoff, while ESPN's Laura Rutledge worries SEC teams will be "gassed" by the end of the season.If his comments Thursday are any indication, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti hears those complaints and more from the SEC's biggest proponents.Here's what Cignetti had to say in an apparent shot at the SEC.MORE:Who dares to prove Indiana coach Curt Cignetti wrong in Year 3?Curt Cignetti takes apparent shot at SECCignetti closed out his Big Ten media day press conference with what certainly sounds like a shot at the SEC."We dont run a hype machine up here in the Midwest," Cignetti said. "We believe everythings earned, not given. And when we fall short, we say, We fell short. We dont cry a river and whine and complain. And thats why were the best."The Big Ten is the best league in football We dont run a hype machine up here in the Midwest. We believe everythings earned, not given. And when we fall short, we say, We fell short. We dont cry a river and whine and complain. And thats why were the best.Indiana head CFB Kings (@CFBKings) July 30, 2026Proponents of the SEC coming up with creative ways to defend the conference after shortcomings is nothing new, but recent comments appear to have Cignetti's attention.Whether it's Kiffin's complaints about the nine-game conference schedule or Texas' Steve Sarkisian threatening to cancel the Longhorns' home-and-home series with Notre Dame over concerns about how the selection committee weighs strength of schedule, it doesn't sound like the reigning national champion head coach plans to take the same approach.MORE:Ranking Big Ten schedules, from hardest to easiestCurt Cignetti at Big Ten media dayFew thought they would see the day that a press conference by the Indiana head coach is the main event of Big Ten media day, but everyone wanted to hear what Cignetti had to say after winning a national championship in January.Cignetti made one thing clear: he's not settling for one title."It's time to turn the page, which I don't have a problem doing," Cignetti told ESPN on Thursday. "Our coaches don't have a problem doing that, and the core group that was with us last year in the locker room do that well too."Cignetti said he and his staff will be "stalking complacency" within the locker room, but he noted that the roster has seen plenty of turnover since January."Our guys know the blueprint, the plan, the process, the standard, and they help the new ones assimilate," Cignetti said. "And so far I like what I see."It could be a relaxed start for Indiana, as the Hoosiers open the season at home against North Texas, Howard, Western Kentucky and Northwestern before going on the road to face Rutgers. That will change in an instant when Indiana faces Ohio State and Michigan in back-to-back weeks in October.MORE:Big Ten commish plays nice with SEC, for the most part