Cignetti calls for loud home crowd as Indiana students can make their mark against Ohio State

Curt Cignetti knows what is coming to Bloomington this weekend. He also knows spending the week talking about the magnitude of it will not help Indiana beat Ohio State.

Coming off a comeback win at Nebraska, the Hoosiers return home for a matchup that brings plenty of attention with it. But during his Monday media availability, Cignetti kept the focus on preparation, not winning streaks or where Saturday might fit in program history.

“You know, both teams are going in in my mind 0-0, and I’m sure that’s how they’re approaching it, too,” Cignetti said. “All that other stuff is just noise and clutter.”

Indiana earned its latest win by finding a way through a difficult afternoon in Lincoln. Down 11 points with 11 minutes remaining, the Hoosiers responded with contributions from all three phases to pull out a road victory.

For Cignetti, the value was in how his team handled a game that could have gotten away from it much earlier.

“It would’ve been easy to let that game get away from you in the first half, and we hung in there, so good win,” Cignetti said.

That did not mean the performance was perfect.

Indiana ran just 16 offensive plays in the first half, struggled to get Nebraska off the field and had costly mistakes that kept them from settling into the game. Defensively, the Hoosiers had trouble getting off blocks and finishing plays in space.

“They were executing really well; we weren’t,” Cignetti said.

Indiana eventually settled down, but its third-down production remained a concern. The Hoosiers finished 1 for 10 on third down, though Cignetti pointed out they converted their lone fourth-down attempt.

“You’re not going to win many games doing that,” Cignetti said. “Bottom line is win, but if you’re good on third down it sure helps.”

Those are areas Indiana will need to clean up with an Ohio State team coming to town that drew praise from Cignetti across the board.

He pointed to Ryan Day and the Buckeyes’ coaching staff, their ability to both run and throw the ball effectively, and a defense under coordinator Matt Patricia that has brought new faces together without losing its quality.

But one player stood out above the rest, wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.

“They move Jeremiah around quite a bit. He’s taken it up a notch without question,” Cignetti said. “You know, there is no one like him right now playing at this level.”

Cignetti described Smith as a “wow player,” giving Indiana a defensive challenge that is more than simply matching up with a talented receiving corps.

“He’s a freak,” Cignetti said. “We’re going to have to do a great job on him.”

The Hoosiers will at least face that challenge at home, something Cignetti made clear he appreciates after playing through the noise at Nebraska.

He called on Indiana’s fans to provide an atmosphere of their own Saturday, while acknowledging his team has a role in keeping them involved.

“We really need our crowd to be loud and very involved,” Cignetti said. “We got to give them reasons to be.”

Winning has helped bring a game of this magnitude to Bloomington. Still, Cignetti was not interested in treating its arrival as a finish line or declaring his team a finished product.

“Two really good teams. Great team we’re playing. Not sure how good we are yet,” Cignetti said.

The Nebraska win gave Indiana another example of its ability to respond under pressure. Now the task is taking what it learned from that performance into a new week without dwelling on the result.

“That was a good one to find a way to win a game like that,” Cignetti said. “But, you know, it’s behind us now and total focus on prep.”