Curt Cignetti came away from Indiana’s Week 2 win with a clear takeaway: the defense looked like a different unit, the offense piled up points, and there’s still enough cleanup work to keep the Hoosiers busy before Western Kentucky rolls in.
Speaking Monday afternoon at his weekly press conference, Indiana’s head coach praised a defense that “took a major step forward” in the shutout of Howard. He said the group “flew around, swarmed the ball, dominated the line of scrimmage,” held the opponent without a trip past midfield and produced a touchdown of its own. Indiana also stacked up eight three-and-outs and a four-and-out while keeping Howard bottled up for most of the afternoon.
The offense did its part, too. Indiana scored on seven of eight possessions before easing off late, and Cignetti pointed out that four different receivers caught touchdown passes while two running backs topped 100 yards. Still, he said the film showed plenty to clean up, noting the Hoosiers had “nine or 10 plays ODK as a team that are negatives, negative plays” that need to disappear before Big Ten play begins.
Cignetti also touched on how Indiana is handling personnel now that players can appear in five games without burning eligibility. He said the staff dresses players who already know the base offense and defense and is hoping to eventually “empty the bench.” Against Howard, Indiana used three quarterbacks and all of its running backs and got most of the available players into the game.
When asked which unit improved the most from Week 1 to Week 2, Cignetti again pointed to the defense. He said Howard hit Indiana early with a naked bootleg and an RPO, but once the game settled into what he called a box game, the Hoosiers stuffed the run and got after the quarterback. Indiana finished with 12 tackles for loss, five sacks, a deflected pass returned for a touchdown, and strong play across the line, linebackers and secondary.
The coach was also pleased with Indiana’s discipline, even if he still saw room to tighten up. He said the Hoosiers were flagged only twice, but he wasn’t happy with either one: a false start inside the 10 and a hold that wiped out a touchdown run.
He also said two touchdown runs were taken off the board because of holding. On special teams, though, he said the two muffed punts were the bigger issue.
Indiana lost one of them, and Cignetti said that was likely the only time Howard crossed the 50-yard line. Asked about the miscues, he said, “We kind of misjudged the ball.
One hit his shoulder, the other one was up high, too. Fair caught both of them.
Got to catch the ball.”
Western Kentucky is next, and Cignetti spent time sizing up the matchup after the Hilltoppers opened with struggles against Nevada and Georgia. He noted that Western Kentucky’s quarterback returns and that its receivers separated well early against Georgia.
At the same time, he pointed out that the Hilltoppers have given up points and are allowing 280 rushing yards a game. For Indiana, though, the focus remains internal.
Cignetti said the staff is still learning what the team does best and wants to sharpen those details before the Big Ten slate arrives.
The offensive line came up several times, both because of the penalties and because of the protection in front of quarterback Josh. Cignetti said the line played fairly well against North Texas and was solid in pass protection, though he wants cleaner pockets and fewer breakdowns when Josh drops back. He added that the group is “in good hands with Coach Bostad.”
Asked about Josh’s early production, Cignetti referenced a stat about touchdown passes in recent home games and said Indiana has scored five times since last season, including last season. He also said the quarterback had a strong day overall, but not a flawless one.
Charlie scored three touchdowns, and Cignetti said there were “three or four reads that ought to be pretty basic that we didn’t make that we can make.” Even so, he praised Josh for making several good plays.
Cignetti said Jamari Sharpe, A.J. Harris and Blake Smythe are all day to day, with optimism around Jamari and Blake.
He also said tight end development remains a work in progress, stressing that the position has to block well because it’s such a major piece of the run game. Barker, he said, has made progress, while Gibbs is getting close to being ready after a strong camp.
At linebacker, Jacob Savage drew a positive review. Cignetti called him instinctive and said he’s a play-maker who cares a lot about what he’s doing.
He also offered an update on Jaylen Bell and Ryland, saying both have taken steps forward over the last two weeks. Bell has been consistent, while Ryland has improved despite a few mistakes.
Cignetti said he has “a lot of confidence in both of them.”
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