Media Monday: Notes and Quotes From Curt Cignetti's Press Conference Ahead of Charlotte Game

Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti met with the media ahead of IU’s week four matchup with the Charlotte 49ers in Bloomington.

NOTES:

- IU hosts Charlotte at 12pm ET in Memorial Stadium

- QB Kurtis Rourke was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week

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

Curt Cignetti QUOTES:

Opening Statement:

“Good win Saturday. First conference game, did a lot of good things in the game. Did a great job on third down offense level, 9-of-12, 5-of-5 touchdowns in the red area. I think for the year, we're 6-0 in the turnover ratio. Taken it away six times, have not turned the ball over.

Responded to their field goals or scores with scores, had a 90-yard drive, an 87-yard drive, two 75s. Defense held them to under 250 yards total offense, and 2 of 8 on third down. So, there weren't any real splash plays on special teams in this game. So, you know good, solid performance.

All eyes on Charlotte. Team that's proven capable of playing up at a very competitive level. Last year, they played Maryland, led at halftime, one-score game in the fourth quarter. Florida was a ball game throughout the entire game. Carolina this year is a one-score game in the third quarter.

So, they have a lot of transfers. They have a lot of athletes. Their defensive line is big, and they can move. They got a receiver that can really go. So, you know, there's a standard we do everything to, and we want to keep improving as a team. And we've got to have a great week of preparation. Starts with the staff. And stay humble and hungry as we prepare for this next opponent.”

On what stood out from Kurtis Rourke’s performance at UCLA…

I thought he played really well and did a really nice job with his eyes and was accurate. We did a great job protecting. We had no sacks. And, you know, receivers did a nice job of separating and made some really good catches too. So, I thought he played extremely well.

On preparing for Charlotte with uncertainty about who they will play at quarterback…

Well, they've played three guys. Played two guys in the last game. Brought a guy in in the fourth quarter, an older guy. The backup was a younger guy. So, we'll prepare for both schematically more so in terms of what they do, what they like to do.

They have a receiver that can really go, Number 3. And 18, the tight end, is a good player. So, maybe the younger guy has a little bit of a liver arm and his mobility might be a little more, but the older guy has got the experience, kind of the moxie, understands how to play.

So, it won't affect our game plan a whole lot.

On the importance of Kurtis Rourke being a veteran presence…

To me, that's the key to the drill. We've had great success the last three years with the one-year transfers. 

We took Todd Centeio, who developed and was player of the year in the league on offense. And then we got Jordan McCloud. They were both older guys, had played, and Kurtis, obviously, had a track record before he came.

So, it's not like you're teaching a young guy how to play the position. You got older guys that know how to play the position and now you're just fitting them into your offensive structure and then building upon the things that they do well. And so, you know, that position, there's just so many things that go on to have an older guy. You can't put a value on it.

On the maturity shown by the team amidst adversity in the second half of the win at UCLA…

We do have a lot of guys on this team that have played a lot of football across the board. We have a couple of new guys on the offensive line. At all positions, we have a veteran outfit. We're veteran at defensive line and linebacker. (Amare) Ferrell is still kind of a younger guy, but we've got, other than that, we've got experience on defense as well.

So, you know, I thought we responded really well. We started very fast. Now, obviously, they fumbled the first play after we had a 7-0 lead. We're up 14-0 before you blink an eye.

In the second half, we had some adversity, obviously, with the penalties on defense. There was no panic, frustration. Maybe there was frustration in terms of what was going down, but our guys kept their poise and responded. And so, you know, I thought that was great.

On the targeting rules and balancing of safety and fairness…

Yeah, I think there needs to be a balance there and common sense and intent, also. Probably the hardest hits in the game was when Aiden Fisher intercepted the pass and got hit in the head, and there's no call for that one. 

You know, the other ones were kind of Mickey Mouse. So, but, you know, that's the way it went down Saturday, and we're not going to change the way we play.

I don't think there was anything dirty out there, that's for sure.