What Curt Cignetti Had To Say After Indiana's 41-24 Win At Northwestern

Curt Cignetti spoke to the media after Indiana improved to 6-0 and became the first team in the country to clinch bowl eligibility.

Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti after the Indiana versus Maryland football game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

EVANSTON, Ill. – Indiana coach Curt Cignetti spoke to the media after Indiana’s 41-24 victory at Northwestern on Saturday.

Indiana became the first team in the country to achieve bowl eligibility as the Hoosiers are 6-0 for the first time since 1967.

Here’s everything Cignetti said in his postgame press conference:

Opening statement …

Cignetti: All right nice win. It’s great to be 6-0. I’m not going to say we needed a game like that, but we were certainly tested back and forth like we had not been tested this season. Most of our wins have been pretty decisive. The Maryland game, we took control in the second half and they were able to close the gap a little bit, but this was back-and-forth.

I was really proud of the offense, the whole team first of all, but the offense kept responding with touchdowns when they needed to. Probably wasn’t our best game defensively, not probably, it wasn’t. It started with us letting the quarterback out of the pocket on third down early in the game, but I really like the way we finished defensively on the last two (Northwestern) drive. I really liked that a lot. It was awesome and our kicking game was solid. We made our field goals when we needed to. To go on the road and get a Big Ten win, that’s a great thing.

Looking forward to the bye week. Everyone could use a day off. I think for the players it’s a good time to get rejuvenated a little bit. We’ll use it constructively. We have an older team. I’m not really concerned about them so much reading about their accolades on social media and the paper because they’ve been around the block a little bit. They’ll be reading a lot about how we aren’t good enough to do this and then. I want the chip on their shoulder to keep growing.

On what he learned about Indiana in a close game …

Cignetti: Today we passed the test because it was a new kind of test. On the road and some real back-and-forth momentum and adversity. We responded. We have an older, veteran team. We’ve got a lot of older guys playing football for us. You know, the quarterback has been outstanding and offense there’s so many playmakers and it all starts up front with the line. And Zach (Horton) does a great job. So it seems like every time when the offense has needed to respond with a touchdown we have. We can play better on defense and he will.

On first quarter success setting the table …

Cignetti: Gosh, if we had every quarter like the first quarter we’d probably be ranked higher in the polls wouldn’t we? We haven’t given up a point in the first quarter, right? Not bad. I think we’ve only given up three in the fourth coming into the game, but no, it’s good to start fast. Without a doubt, but you have to play well in the middle and at the end and end of the second and the end of the third those are critical times. But it’s great to start fast. You know offensively we’re playing pretty well. We are. We’re 6-0 as a football team. So we’re proud of the team up to this point which I’m not supposed to say, but we can certainly improve a lot more and we’re only halfway through the regular season.

On Jailin Walker injury and adjustments made with replacement Isaiah Jones in the game …

Cignetti: Nothing. We call what we call. We call what’s the best call for that down-and-distance and that personnel grouping. When they put two tight ends on the field, we have a little different kind of package. We’ll see how Jailin is on Monday. He’s some injuries in the past that the medical staff didn’t think he’d play again and he’s back there like two weeks later. So we’ll see.

On Kurtis Rourke and Elijah Sarratt’s connection and how quickly they’ve build a bond …

Cignetti: You have two committed, dependable guys. Sarratt, he did maybe have his hand on one that wasn’t complete. They certainly do have that trust, but I think he’s got trust with a lot of those wideouts, which is why we’re rolling the way we are.

On Indiana’s defensive struggles and how it got better in the fourth quarter …

Cignetti: Problem we were having was third down and it started with when we let the quarterback out of the pocket. On one deeper one, perfect position to play the ball and they come up with it. I thought we finished the game like a championship team.

On defensive line reserve injuries …

Cignetti: Well, (Mario) Landino’s been rolling in the two-deep and he’s a freshman. Really, Robby (Harrison) and (Ta’Darius) Collins has been out since camp. Robby is not in the two-deep. We were down a freshman whose played in three games. So we can play better.

On how Indiana can finish find ways to finish games strong …

Cignetti: Look guys, this is culture and mindset. These are guys who came from championship programs that have now won 20 of their last 21 games. A lot of other transfers that come from other good programs and guys who stayed that had a chip on their shoulder and something to prove. When you take over a program the number one thing you have to do is to change the way people think.

Change the way people think. The way you play the game, the expectation level, the standards, how you do things, the fanbase and to expect. You have to change the way people think. We have a blueprint, we have a way we play, we’ve got character, we’ve got some talent, right? They’re playing like all of our other teams have played in those situations.

On having 196 yards in yards after the catch on Saturday …

Cignetti: Yeah, that was awesome. There was a lot of space on some of those catches. A lot of those were RPOs. They were in a Tampa-2 (defense) which is actually a run-stopping defense for them. The RPO slant, the five-step slant RPO was open. Didn’t throw it twice early in the game. Probably should’ve, but our players made the most of them.

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