Curt Cignetti Ball: Indiana Football Keeps Turnovers, Penalties Under Control

One of the trademarks of Curt Cignetti’s teams is avoiding self-inflicted wounds. The Hoosiers have been strong in that department, especially in recent games.

Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti walks back to the locker room after beating the Washington Huskies at Memorial Stadium. / Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Every football coach at every level wants to avoid self-inflicted wounds.

Penalties are a big point of emphasis for every coach. So is avoiding turnovers.

Curt Cignetti is no different. What is different is he gets results in these departments.

Indiana played one of its cleanest games of the season in its 31-17 victory over Washington Saturday. There was an interception thrown by Tayven Jackson – it was a tipped ball, but it was thrown into traffic – and that’s about it.

There were no fumbles and just one penalty – a false start by Trey Wedig on Indiana’s third play from scrimmage.

Indiana has only turned the ball over six times this season, tied for 12th-best in the nation. When you dive into the details, the picture becomes even more impressive for the Hoosiers.

Four of Indiana’s turnovers came in one game – the Hoosiers’ 42-28 victory over Maryland on Sept. 28. There’s been interceptions in the last two contests. And that’s it for the season.

Penalties also have been minimal. Apart from 9 penalties for 80 yards in the opener against Florida International and the 14-penalty flag fest against UCLA at the Rose Bowl, the Hoosiers haven’t been penalized more than four times in any other game.

If you think that sounds like a rare distinction, you’d be correct.

Only two other Big Ten teams – Iowa and Rutgers – have had more games with four or fewer penalties than the Hoosiers. Only one Big Ten team – Rutgers – has had fewer fumbles than Indiana’s two. Iowa and Penn State are tied with the Hoosiers with two fumbles.

All teams work through preseason camp to eliminate mistakes. When a team gets to season practices, there’s a lot more to account for – opponent prep, changing lineups, injuries – that can take some focus off avoiding mistakes.

Cignetti said some of the success his teams have had are predicated on not letting standards slip.

“You get what you demand. We run a pretty structured, organized, disciplined program. We've got a lot of character on this football team. We've had some success, so they're listening pretty good,” Cignetti said during his Monday press conference.

They need to listen. Cignetti builds rosters in a way where mistakes are going to be punished with diminished playing time.

“There are things we emphasize. It's all part of being successful on the football field. The guys buy into it. They have to buy into it. We spend a lot of time talking about it, working on it. It's as fundamental as lining up right, protecting the football,” Cignetti said.

Cignetti has gone into the details he emphasizes before, but it bears repeating as more than a half-season of data demonstrates his methods work.

“(We) want to be fast, physical, relentless but smart, disciplined and poised, too,” Cignetti explained. “Always eliminating the pre-snap penalties, being smart with your hands. Good hand placement on offense when you're blocking. Blocking in front in the return game. Special teams. Pulling off the quarterback when it's time to pull off.”

Cignetti said Indiana did a good job in all of those departments on Saturday. The season stats tell the same story. Indiana is 12th nationally in turnover ratio.

“We've always been really good in the turnover ratio. I think we're plus-eight right now,” Cignetti said.

When a team combines virtually mistake-free football with the Hoosiers’ playmaking ability? You get what you get – an 8-0 overall record and a 5-0 mark in the Big Ten.

Related stories on Indiana football

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• REMINDER TO SMELL THE ROSES: There is such a thing as being too close to a subject to understand how it's being perceived by others. One of Hoosiers On SI's writers was reminded of that on Saturday. CLICK HERE.

• OPENING LINE: Here's the point spread and over/under for Indiana's road game against Michigan State on Saturday, plus betting results from throughout the season. CLICK HERE

• TODD'S TAKE: The No. 13 Hoosiers on Saturday were different than the high-flying team of the first half of the season. Indiana leaned on Justice Ellison and its offensive line and found a different way to stay unbeaten. CLICK HERE

• BACKSTAGE AT GAMEDAY: Indiana students, basketball players, famous personalities and many others drink in a big day on-campus. CLICK HERE