Cignetti says Indiana must improve after close win over Northwestern

Indiana came away with a win over Northwestern Saturday, but Curt Cignetti wasn’t interested in treating it as a game the Hoosiers could simply move past.

At his Monday media availability, the head coach pointed to missed opportunities on offense, a late defensive slide and a special teams mistake as signs his team has work to do before its trip to Rutgers.

“The positive is we were in a close game and prevailed. There is value in that,” Cignetti said. “Negative is we didn’t play well. We were very inconsistent. We got to play better. We’re not going to go very far playing the way we played Saturday night.”

Indiana out rushed Northwestern 270 yards to 30, a gap Cignetti said should not have resulted in a game that went down to the wire. He credited Northwestern for making plays in a physical contest, but said Indiana made the game harder on itself.

The offense took roughly 22 minutes to get going, Cignetti said. He counted 12 penalties, critical missed assignments or missed opportunities in Indiana’s first 25 plays and believed the Hoosiers should have taken a four-score lead into halftime. Instead, they led just 12-0.

Indiana found more success later, scoring on five of its final six drives, according to Cignetti. He also made clear that the rushing total wasn’t something he would dismiss, even when asked about the run game’s down to down consistency.

“I’m never going to walk away from 270 yards rushing in a Big Ten football game,” he said. “That’s pretty darn good.”

His concerns extended to the other side of the ball. Cignetti singled out a 3^rd and 13 play in the third quarter when Northwestern’s quarterback escaped the pocket. After that, he said, Indiana struggled to contain him, and Northwestern scored on its final four drives.

Cignetti also pointed to a fair-caught kickoff that Indiana dropped at its own two-yard line. “You just can’t play like that and expect to get a whole lot done,” he said.

The fixes aren’t limited to one position group. Cignetti said right tackle Adedamola Ajani has made progress but still occasionally needs help in pass protection, while Indiana’s young tight ends are developing. He praised receiver Nick Marsh’s improvement and blocking, though he said the receivers can continue to get better in that area.

Indiana now takes those issues into its first road game at Rutgers. Cignetti expects a sellout for the Scarlet Knights’ homecoming and warned that their offense can score, pointing to receiver KJ Duff and running back Antwan Raymond as threats.

For Cignetti, the approach to the road environment is straightforward: prepare well, then execute.

“It’s a business trip,” he said. “We got to prepare well this week and put it between the white lines.