Media Monday: Notes and Quotes From Curt Cignetti Old Oaken Bucket Game

Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti met with the media ahead of IU’s matchup with Purdue for the Old Oaken Bucket on Saturday night in Bloomington.

NOTES:

- IU was ranked 10th in both the AP and Coaches Polls this week

- CFP rankings come out on Tuesday

- A final Injury Report will be posted on Saturday prior to kickoff

Curt Cignetti QUOTES:

Opening Statement

CC: All right, total focus on Purdue, rivalry game. Obviously big game, Saturday night, 7:00, 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 the struggles in pass protection…

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.

We've got to get back in sync offensively and get our rhythm back where we're playing with a lot of confidence, scoring points, scoring points in bunches, and running the ball and throwing the ball with equal success.

On if the increased athleticism from Ohio State and Michigan’s line have contributed to the protection struggles…

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 the impact of wear and tear throughout the season on Kurtis Rourke’s health…

 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 the special teams miscues…

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 the benefits of extra practices for young players…

 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 preparing for a rivalry game with so many new guys…

 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.

On the problems Purdue presents offensively and defensively…

Q. I saw that the Purdue quarterback I think is coming off a career high in passing yards. Talk a little bit about the problems they present offensively and defensively.

 Yeah, quarterback 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, 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.

Defensively they've given up some points, but they've tweaked a few things and they're playing better defense. They're a very capable football team.

The quarterback is experienced.

On the differences in the run blocking success compared to the pass protection struggles against Ohio State…

 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 Tyler Stephens capitalizing on his opportunity and the boost he has provided…

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 his plan to handle the postseason and the transfer portal coming up…

 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.