From the time he said Purdue, Michigan and Ohio State “suck” to the time he said, “I win, Google me,” Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti has made headlines for his confidence in front of a microphone. However, ahead of his team’s top-five matchup with the Buckeyes this weekend, Cignetti refrained from words that could be used as bulletin board material.
“Excited about this week’s opportunity against Ohio State,” Cignetti said in his opening statement. “Obviously, an excellent football team, one of the favorites to win the national championship, a lot of great players, extremely well-coached and their tradition speaks for itself.”
Over the next 13 minutes, Cignetti received over a dozen questions about Ohio State’s offense, Indiana’s off week, the Hoosiers’ health and more. We have included each of those quotes below in a recap of Cignetti’s first press conference of Ohio State Week.
It’s clear Cignetti respects Ohio State, but as the Hoosiers prepare for the Buckeyes, the head coach said his coaches and players will treat their meetings and practices with the same urgency they’ve had all season amid a 10-0 start.
“It’s a big game for us because it’s this game coming up. We treat them all alike. If there was a better way to prepare for a certain team, we would do that for every team. We have to stack moments, meetings, practices and days to give ourselves the best chance to be successful on Saturday. I’m confident in our team that we will prep well this week, play well, play with poise and play our game. Excited about the opportunity.”
Cignetti was an offensive assistant for 27 years before he became a head coach at IUP in 2011 and later led Elon (2017-18), James Madison (2019-23) and now Indiana. When asked about Ohio State’s offense on Monday, the 63-year-old said the Buckeyes have an “excellent scheme” that will challenge the Hoosiers at all three levels.
“Very skilled at the skill positions, and the offensive line is good. Obviously, everybody knows about the running backs, receivers, quarterbacks and tight ends. Chip Kelly has done a great job offensively everywhere he’s been. They’ve got an excellent scheme that puts defenses in conflict. They have it all. They really do.”
Indiana started its season with 10 games in 10 weeks, beating Florida International, Western Illinois, UCLA, Charlotte, Maryland, Northwestern, Nebraska, Washington, Michigan State and Michigan. That said, Cignetti thinks Indiana’s off week came “at a great time” for the Hoosiers to rest while also affording the program extra time to prepare for their first ranked game of the year.
“I think the off week came at a great time because it was a physical football game (against Michigan). We played a number of games in a row. It was good for everybody to catch a breather and get refreshed and recharged. It gave us a little extra time on the next opponent.”
“We will be at full strength for the game. In terms of the bye week, I think across college football, everybody is hurting a little bit at this point. Even when you’re playing every play in the game, you’ve got something. I think the bye week came at a really good time to kind of get refreshed and recharged.”
As the No. 5 team in America, Indiana is poised to make the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. The Hoosiers could also secure a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game with a win over Ohio State on Saturday. Knowing what’s in store for Indiana this week and the rest of this season, Cignetti said the Hoosiers’ goals are “all out there” for the taking.
“I think any P4 school with the proper commitment is capable of being successful. Really, the difference between victory and defeat in most of these games is very silm. It’s all attainable. We put ourselves in a position right now to be talked about quite a bit. That’s nice. (But) it doesn’t help us prepare. It doesn’t help us play any better.
“we’ve got some great opportunities ahead of us. This is a team that’s capable. The only limitations on this football team would be those we put on ourselves between the ears. But this is a group of guys that do not think that way. We’re going into this next game confident, believing. We’re going to go out there, and we’re going to play well.”
