Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti was joined by Oregon head coach Dan Lanning on a Zoom call ahead of their matchup in the Peach Bowl on January 9th.
Notes
– IU is the No. 1 Seed in the College Football Playoff and will play No. 5 Oregon in the Peach Bowl.
– The Peach Bowl Game will kickoff at 7:30pm on ESPN at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
– At the time of the recording IU had 13 players from the transfer portal on campus.
Curt Cignetti Quotes
CURT CIGNETTI: Yeah. Excited to be a part of the Peach Bowl. Great cause; it will be a great venue. Playing a great opponent, Oregon, Coach Lanning. I said so before when we played earlier in the year, one of the young superstars in the coaching profession. I think they’re 26 and 2 the last two years. And really an excellent football team, offense, defense and special teams. Do a great job of coaching. Will be a big challenge. We were fortunate to win the game out in Eugene. It’s hard to beat a great team twice. Very difficult. So edged Oregon there, but oughta be a great game. Looking forward to the challenge.
Q. Curt, I wanted to ask you about Devan Boykin. He’s kind of a guy that, from the outside looking in, has been kind of flying under the radar, but had a massive game at the Rose Bowl, and I know he’s been kind of surging over the course of the season. What can you say about just the value that he brings to this team?
CURT CIGNETTI: He’s a really smart player. He knows all three safety positions. He’s made a number of big plays for us. Played a lot of football at NC State, was a quarterback in high school, got great ball skills. Good special teams player as well. And he’s a veteran. We’ve got a lot of veterans back there, which helps; played a lot of football. But he’s one of the leaders in the back end.
Q. Curt, you mentioned the challenge of beating a great team twice. I think the last time you had a rematch as a head coach was 2016 at IUP. Just wanted to get your perspective on that, the rematch, the challenges. And as somebody who appreciates the process, is that something that you feel like you’ll enjoy kind of planning for a great team twice?
CURT CIGNETTI: Yeah. I think it’s more of a psychological edge maybe; the one team that came up a little short, a little added edge, so to speak. But at the end of the day, it’s determined by what goes on between the white lines. It will be a tremendous challenge because Oregon, they’re very well coached, and they got good players. They’re explosive on offense. They run the ball really well. They’re very balanced. The line does a good job. And then they spread around the pass game, use all 52 yards. And, defensively, great speed, fly the ball, multiple hats.
They’ve got a scheme where they keep you off balance with your pre-snap reads that are huge inside, and the edge guys can really rush the passer. And their teams are good. So second time around, you know, we’re both going to watch the tape of the first game, see what we did well, see what we didn’t do well. And may be some wrinkles. Both teams will have some wrinkles, obviously, and both teams have sort of morphed since that game, because it was a while back. And you put the best plan together you can, but at the end of the day, you know, it’s which team executes the best play in, play out.
Q. For both coaches, we hear a lot about quarterback play, but the offensive line is where the protection comes from to create those opportunities. Just what each of you can say about your offensive line’s evolution and execution this season.
CURT CIGNETTI: I think the one thing that helps us with pass protection is the balance that we have on the offense. We run the ball well. Oregon does, too. We both average over 200 yards a game. We both run it more than 50 percent of the time. So the pressure is not on the line to be in constant pass pro mode. And, obviously, the quick throws, advantage throws and RPOs are built in as well. So our line has been very consistent. We got a bunch of guys that have played together for a long time. Bob Bostad does a tremendous job with those guys. Our running backs do a nice job with pass pro as well. And we try to mix the passes up, so we got the quick stuff when we get out of the hand, and then the longer developing stuff. But I think when you can run the ball, that really helps your pass game.
Q. Both coaches, starting with Curt. How different is — from what you saw in the Orange Bowl — what Oregon’s coverages were in the Orange Bowl compared to what you saw back in October? And for Dan, who and what prompted those changes, not just relative to October, but over the course of the season?
CURT CIGNETTI: Well, I’ll be honest with you. I’m seeing some different things, some different techniques, but also, with the college football calendar the way it is, we have 13 portal guys on campus right now. So from 10:00 till 2:00 my Oregon prep got cut a little bit short. So. , you know, I’m going to pick up on that later this evening. But philosophically, core base, they look very similar to what they did. There are some new things showing up. But the bottom line is, you know, they got guys inside. You know, good job stopping the run. They don’t give up many yards rushing. They can put heat on the passer outside and with their pressure package, and they do a good job covering and swarming the ball and they do a nice job pre-snap of disguising their coverages.
Q. I just wanted to know what you both think of the significance that all four coaches left in the playoffs worked for Coach Saban, and just the connectivity, even though you guys were all there at different times, that everyone is connected to him.
CURT CIGNETTI: Well, yeah. Four for four. I think everybody learned a lot from Nick. He was a great mentor, very organized, detailed; had a plan for everything. Managed lead, how to stop complacency, game day, recruiting, recruiting evaluation, player evaluation. I mean, he had it all. And if you were serious about your career and wanted to be a head coach one day, you took great notes or great mental notes. So I felt like after one year with Coach Saban, that I had learned more about how to run a program than I maybe did the previous 27 as an assistant coach, and stayed with him for three more years. So there’s a lot of disciples out there doing well, and that’s why he’s the greatest of all time.
Q. This is for both coaches. You both mentioned about kind of entertaining recruits while you’re trying to coach for a semifinal position here, and I’m just curious, with all of these — everyone coming in in January, how much significantly better do you think teams are from all of the chaos that’s created from it?
CURT CIGNETTI: Yeah. I’d agree with that totally. You gotta adjust, adapt and improvise and be light on your feet. I’m not sure it necessarily affects the current team at all because the schedule will be the schedule. It obviously influences the ’26 roster quite a bit. I think that’s what you’re seeing is a lot of new faces on every team across the country. Players have a lot more options and the ability to improve their brand. It puts a little more stress on the coaching staff. Right now this time of year, if you’re still playing — and there’s only four of us really playing in the playoffs. There might be a couple other bowl games remaining. So I guess the teams that aren’t playing maybe have a little bit more of an advantage right now from a recruiting standpoint. But you gotta make time for it. You gotta get it done, do the best you can. But the focus primarily has to be on preparation for this game.
Q. Curt, are you letting players that go to the portal or planning to go into the portal kind of stay with the team through the CFP? And then you mentioned obviously the challenges, kind of hosting of all those transfers. With the portal open this round, kind of what’s the key to sort of balancing — you mentioned obviously game plan has gotta come first, but how have you tried to approach it with the staff to try to manage that workload and all the things that you have to get accomplished?
CURT CIGNETTI: Yeah. We’ve had a few players go in the portal, and we would like them to continue to practice. A few have chosen to go home and won’t be with us this week. I don’t think that’s going to present a problem for us in terms of our preparation. The thing about the portal guys, they’re a little different than the high school guys. They don’t need 48 hours on campus. It’s usually one night, they’re making a business decision. They’re normally older guys. They’ve been through it. They know what they’re looking for. Either you’re a fit or you’re not. And so from a coach’s standpoint, like yesterday, because we got back at 3:30 in the morning from the Rose Bowl, I gave the coaches and players off. Now, I came in. I was in the office about eight or nine hours because I knew what I was looking at here. The position coaches may have one, two, three guys in at their position that they’ll have to have a position meeting with, whereas, I’m going to have to visit with 12, 13 guys, right? So I knew I was going to lose six, seven, eight hours, so I tried to make that up yesterday. And I have a few meetings this evening and a few tomorrow morning, and then it’ll be 100 percent focus on our prep.
Q. For both coaches, both your teams play with an abundance of confidence. How do you develop that? How do you get your players to feel that way and just the importance of that?
CURT CIGNETTI: I think confidence and belief come from when you’re prepared, totally prepared and get the result you’re looking for. That’s why it’s important to have a blueprint and a plan. This business is all about development, recruiting and retention.
Gotta have high standards, expectations, accountability throughout your entire organization. Gotta have the right people on your staff and in the locker room. And you improve every single day. Like this week, it’ll be important that we can stack meetings, practices and days so that, you know, we’re totally prepared to play one to 150 at 7:30 on Friday night and then play the way we want them to play. And I think when guys prepare correctly, that’s their best chance to be successful.
And when they become successful, they develop more confidence and belief, and it becomes sort of a snowball effect. And that’s the way it’s worked for us, but it’s always been in the here and now, controlling the controllables, focused on your preparation, eliminating the noise and the clutter so that you go in 100 percent prepared, which gives yourself the best chance of being successful.
Q. Coach Cignetti, I know you challenged Fernando to not allow the Heisman moment to play into the way he played at the Rose Bowl, and I suspect you were pretty happy with the way he handled everything, but what is your impression of how he managed through that whole process and how he performed, given the Heisman label at the Rose Bowl?
CURT CIGNETTI: Yeah. He did a great job preparing, likes he always does. He was the same guy. We had not played a game in three-and-a half weeks. So maybe the speed of the game, the first play of the game, you know, was a play he normally would have made, and then they did an all-out blitz and kind of got us on third down.
But after that, I mean, he was tremendous. He had more touchdown passes than incompletions. He used his legs to make plays like he’s done all year, and he was 100 percent on point.
And then we got the run game going and we didn’t need his arm quite as much. He hit the clock, get out of the game. And I’d give him an A plus. He’s player of the game on offense.
Q. Coach Cignetti, this is for you. I wanted to get your thoughts on Pat Coogan, the way he played. We didn’t get a chance to ask you specifically, but as a coach, your thoughts on seeing your center win offensive MVP of the Rose Bowl.
CURT CIGNETTI: Yeah, the MVP of the Rose Bowl, in my mind, was the whole offensive line, and Pat Coogan is one of the leaders on the offensive line. I think Kirk Herbstreit said that he had a big role in choosing him, and he made a good decision. But I thought our line played really well, very aggressive, snapped the whistle, finished plays. And Coogan, of course, is making all the calls and a key guy there, and he played well.
He played well also, but in general, we did a really nice job of protecting the quarterback. There were a couple of situations. But in the run game we got that going. Our backs ran really hard. Our receivers blocked. And it was a good day on offense.
Q. I wanted to follow up on Fernando. You’ve talked about his ability to kind of move in the pocket and be mobile enough to extend plays. How valuable is it, though, I think he had something like five scrambles in the Rose Bowl and four went for first downs and one might have been design, but some of those were also maybe him taking those opportunities. How far does it change what a quarterback can kind of do for an offense when even if not maybe he’s a full dual threat guy like Fernando, he can just keep extending plays and he can always threaten a defense with sort of productive runs?
CURT CIGNETTI: To me that’s the winning edge. I mean, when you look at a quarterback, obviously he’s gotta have throwing ability and be able to process, but the ability to extend plays, whether it’s with his legs or once he’s out of the pocket with his arm, his eyes down field, I mean, that’s the key. A guy that cannot extend plays, you really become vulnerable. And Fernando’s ability to make plays with his legs, boy, I can’t even count the number of times in big games this year where his legs have come through and extended drives.
Q. This is for both coaches. This will obviously be the third straight year that a BIG TEN team one way or another from either of you will make it to the National Championship game, I think fourth time in the last five years. What do you feel like that says about the BIG TEN conference and what it’s been able to do in the last handful of years and how do you feel like your conference schedule has really helped prepare you guys to be able to achieve a feat like this?
CURT CIGNETTI: Well, I’ve only been in the league two years. So I’m not sure I’m the one to answer this question. I know that Michigan won it three years ago. That was a great football team. Ohio State was equally as great last season.
You got two teams playing in the semis. So one of us is going to be in the National Championship game, and I certainly hope the BIG TEN can claim that prize. Oregon is a great football team. But the BIG TEN is a great conference, a lot of good teams top to bottom. And that’s a great thing about the playoffs. You give 12 teams a chance to win it all, and at the end of the day there’s one standing.
Q. This is for both coaches. You guys are traveling. Dan, you went from Oregon to Miami, back to Oregon, to Georgia. And Coach Cignetti, you went out to California. How difficult is the travel on both the schedule and then recovery of your athletes?
DAN LANNING: It’s not bad.
MODERATOR: All right. Coach Cignetti.
CURT CIGNETTI: I’ll echo that sentiment. (Laughs).
Q. We’ve heard a lot about the transfer portal and name, image and likeness and all those pieces, but when we’re looking at the culture of these teams, just what you can say to that effect, the family over self, because there’s a reason why you get to where you get to and to have success like you’ve both had. So what you can say about culture and family over simply just looking at the individual self.
CURT CIGNETTI: I think when you look at our team, you got a number of veterans, guys that have played a lot of football, but high-character guys that are good players. And this is a very, very close team, that plays for one another, trusts one another. And I mean, we got a lot of guys on this football team that are going to do real well in life. And this is a special group.