Curt Cignetti says Indiana will have to 'play our best to have a shot' against Michigan

Trent Knoop | 3 Hours Ago

Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For the first time in -- forever? -- Michigan will enter Bloomington as double-digit underdogs. But that's what happens when you're at 5-4 and you're facing a red-hot Indiana team that is undefeated and ranked No. 8 in the first College Football Playoff rankings. The Hoosiers aren't just beating their opponents but throttling them.

Michigan has lost just twice to Indiana since 1987. The Wolverines fell to the Hoosiers in '87 and then lost to Indiana during the 2020 season. The maize and blue hold a 62-10 all-time record against Indiana.

But this is 2024 and coach Curt Cignetti has the Hoosiers playing as well as anyone in the country. The former James Madison coach brought in a plethora of players from the transfer portal to fill out this Indiana roster. Entering Saturday, here's what Cignetti had to say about Michigan.

Opening statement on the previous win over Michigan State and playing the Wolverines

..So all eyes on Michigan. Really tough opponent. Obviously won the national championship last season. Wasn't much of a game between the two teams last year. And a lot of good players, really stout defense, really good special teams. They run the ball well. Good tight end, running backs. Offensive line functions well. Settled in on a quarterback. He can spin it. And the receivers are more than capable. So we'll have to have a great week of preparation and play our best to have a shot.

On facing a struggling Michigan offense

I look at them and I see a really good defense, really good special teams. And offensively, they haven't scored points. They're not in the 40s and 50s. But they can run the ball from 11, 12, and 13 personnel. They've got weapons. They've got good backs. They've got good players, and they're a good football team coming in here with a lot of tradition, a lot of history, a lot of pride, and it's part of the reason it's on national TV at 3:30. To meet that challenge, we've got to have a great week of preparation.

Preparing for a guy like Colston Loveland

Well, you've got to be aware of him, for sure, down the field and on screens, various things, because when you've got size and speed like that, you can create personnel mismatch. So he's an excellent football player. They've got a lot of really good football players.

On how Wink Martindale can use the pass rush against the IU offensive line

Well, you know, we're still fairly early in our preparation, but, you know, at this point in the season you've seen most of what you're going to see. They do present a lot of looks, and they do a great job. He does a great job. He's an excellent coordinator. He coordinated in the NFL a long time. And when you put the tape on, you see a defense that's very multiple and tries to create problems for offenses and good players that fly around, play hard. It all starts up front with them. They're good inside and good on the edge. And they're an aggressive defense. We'll have a good plan to be balanced on offense and protect the quarterback and free guys up in the pass game and hopefully good in critical situations, and then we've got to go out and execute it.

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