What Indiana Coach Curt Cignetti Said At His Pre-Purdue Press Conference

Curt Cignetti spoke to the media on Monday. He spoke about moving on from the Ohio State loss and preparing for the Old Oaken Bucket game on Saturday.

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti talks to the media during a recent press conference. / Hoosiers On SI | Todd Golden

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti had his weekly press conference on Monday as the No. 10 Hoosiers prepare for the Old Oaken Bucket game against Purdue at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday.

Cignetti delved into some more detail from Indiana's 38-15 loss to Ohio State on Saturday and gave some insight into what he expects from Purdue.

Here's what Cignetti had to say:

Opening statement ...

Cignetti: All right, total focus on Purdue, rivalry game. Obviously big game, Saturday night, 7 o'clock, Thanksgiving week, weekend. Really need to get the students back. Need to pack the stadium. It's got to be loud. It's got to be a winning edge for us. We've got to have a great week of preparation and take care of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, put ourselves in the best position for Saturday.

They're a capable team, and they're not having the kind of season they wanted to have, obviously, but they're also a team that's scored 40 points in the second half against Illinois to come back from a 27-3 deficit and send the game to overtime. At this level, everybody is capable.

We've got to play well and play very well.

Last week obviously not the outcome that we wanted. I thought we did some good things. I thought defensively overall other than the last drive, take away the last drive, we hold them under 300 yards, 17 points. Offense, good first drive, good last drive, but in between, not a whole lot there.

We've got to shore our pass protection up. We had some missed assignments, a couple physical errors. One time got beat one-on-one. But we've got to take the hits off the quarterback because I don't know a quarterback in the country if he gets hit over and over again, they all lose their effectiveness.

I thought we ran the ball fairly well. We've averaged over four and a half yards a carry, take a knee play at the end of the half, and ran the ball fairly well. Obviously the punt team cost us 14 points. It's a 7-7 game with about 1:40 to go in the second quarter, and we dropped the snap, and they get the ball on the 7-yard line. Then we punt the ball first series of the second half and get a 79-yard punt return for a touchdown. Punt is supposed to be kicked to the right and ends up over on the left number and all of our coverage is going right, ball goes left, and we were in a bad spot.

Looking forward to this game. I said what I had to say about the College Football Playoff after the game. The only thing I'm going to say today is we're sitting in a good spot. But we've got to take care of business. That's that.

On whether there's anything that ties together problems with pass protection in Indiana's last six quarters ...

Cignetti: Missed assignments and poor technique would be the themes. Five sacks against Ohio State, we had three missed assignments, routine stuff, communication stuff. We got beat physically one time and poor technique on a weak-side twist, which is similar to what Michigan had given us the week before, a little different but similar. They had a little weak side linebacker in twist that we just didn't do a good job with.

On the increased athleticism of Michigan and Ohio State and what effect it had ...

Cignetti: Well, most of our problems Saturday were assignment errors, like day one protection, certain lineman is supposed to go to the left and he doesn't. I mean, there were three five-man pressures and two four-man pressures. One was a simulated pressure. All routine stuff. We didn't do a good job of handling it.

We protected really well the first series. We protected well the last series. But in between -- we had that 3rd and 1 play where we got called for the false start, put us in 3rd and 6. They brought a blitz, we didn't block it right. Quarterback got hit. He got hit four of the next five passes, sacked. So when he did have the opportunity to throw the football, he wasn't quite as effective with his reads or his accuracy, and when you get rocked like that, not many guys are.

On Kurtis Rourke's thumb with forecast cold weather on Saturday ...

Cignetti: No, the thumb has really progressed well. It's not an issue. We've got to do a better job of protecting the quarterback. I'm confident that we will.

On punter James Evans and the punt unit ...

Cignetti: Well, it was a good snap. We kind of had our hands on the back half of the ball, and then the next punt was the one that was supposed to go right and went way to the left for the touchdown. It wasn't a great day for that unit. It's got to be better.

On what the added practices will do for the team with it playing in the playoff or a bowl game ...

Cignetti: It depends on how much time and how many practices, but in terms of keeping the guys that are actually going to play fresh, I've always done a good job of managing that. Any more getting the young guys some work, but they're going to get plenty of work in spring ball.

On how team has reacted to the loss and how it will react for a rivalry game ...

Cignetti: Yeah, but they all understand what a rivalry game is, and they know what's at stake. I expect us to have a great week.

What Purdue presents offensively and defensively ...

Cignetti: Yeah, quarterback (Hudson Card) is a very talented guy. He's got arm talent and really good escapability. Tight end is a weapon with 46 catches. The one receiver, 7 (Jahmal Edirine), is a very explosive player, and they've got a speed guy, too, and then they've got some guys that make good contested catches. I've always thought the running back was good. The center is an excellent player. Right tackle is very athletic. Scheme is good.

The quarterback is experienced.

Difference between run blocking and pass blocking at Ohio State ...

Cignetti: I just thought we did a nice job of coming off the ball and targeting the right people. I thought the backs ran really well. Really well. We had pretty good downfield blocking.

On the play of Tyler Stephens ...

Cignetti: Yeah, I think he's done a really nice job both games at left guard. I hate that we lost Drew Evans because I'm very high on him and he has a couple of years of eligibility left and he's real tough guy. But Tyler Stephens has stepped in and he's done well.

On how to handle the logistics of a playoff run, the transfer portal and recruiting in December ...

Cignetti: Yeah, and I think I can talk more about that next week. Obviously we all knew December was coming and all the different things that would be going on, so I've had a lot of time to think about that. Right now my total focus is on Purdue.

On position group priority for the offseason ...

Cignetti: We'll address that at the end of the season. Right now our focus is on Purdue.

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• COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF PROJECTIONS: Despite its loss Saturday at Ohio State, Indiana still looks to be in good shape to make the College Football Playoff. CLICK HERE

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