Three key notes from Curt Cignetti’s weekly press conference

• Ian Plaskoff

• 45m ago

 

Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti spoke to the media on Monday at his weekly press conference.

Three notable points stood out.

Acknowledgment of defensive improvements

Indiana’s defense did not play up to its standard in the season-opener against North Texas. Cignetti and members of the defense both made that abundantly clear after the game.

The Hoosiers gave up 367 yards of offense, including 152 rushing yards. A season ago, Indiana led the nation in average rushing yards allowed at just over 77 per game. Indiana only had one sack and seven tackles for loss and was on the field defensively for nearly 40 minutes.

While it was against Howard, Indiana’s defense was much more effective in Week 2. Cignetti made sure to acknowledge the feat.

“Walked out feeling a lot better about things,” Cignetti said. “Thought defense took a major step forward, flew around, swarmed the ball and dominated the line of scrimmage. Got the shutout, scored the touchdown. Didn’t let the opponent cross the 50. Eight three-and-outs and a four-and-out. Just flew around and played a lot better.”

Indiana only allowed 57 total yards and four first downs against the Bison. Howard ran for 13 yards on 0.5 yards per carry. The Bison only threw for 44 yards on 2.2 yards per pass. The Hoosiers racked up 12 tackles for loss and five sacks in the process.

“I think the defense in general, the D-line, the linebackers, and the DBs all took a major step forward,” Cignetti said.

As Week 3 approaches, Indiana’s defensive improvements are a factor to watch on gameday. It has a chance to build even more against a Western Kentucky offense that has struggled through its first two games.

Two-sided approach for Week 3

An important note from Cignetti’s Monday press conference was its approach against Western Kentucky, its Week 3 opponent.

It’s easy to insinuate that Indiana schedules inferior opponents to develop the team before conference play. Indiana has never said it outright, though. That is somewhat different now.

“It’s always about preparation for the opponent,” Cignetti said. “It’s still this week more about us and tightening some things up, and in some ways we’re still learning about what we can do best before we go to Big Ten play.”

The message is pretty clear. Indiana plans to use its game against Western Kentucky as a tune-up. It will look to clean up prior mistakes, test out different rotations and roles and get the team more fit to play conference opponents.

Western Kentucky is 0-2 on the season with a 49-14 loss at Nevada and a 70-20 loss at Georgia. Opponents are averaging nearly 500 total yards and 280 rushing yards per game and over eight yards per play.

“They’ve struggled obviously in their first two games,” Cignetti said. “The goal is to continue to make ’em struggle defensively.”

Cignetti made it fairly clear that Indiana is more concerned about its internal developments than the score at the end of the game.

Injury status trending the right way

Starting cornerbacks Jamari Sharpe and AJ Harris and promising freshman defensive tackle Blake Smythe all missed Indiana’s game against Howard due to injury.

Three players who can all play big roles in the defense appear to be coming back on the field sooner rather than later.

“They’re day-to-day, but we’re optimistic about Jamari. [We’ll] see how he’s doing. Blake Smythe, as well,” Cignetti said.

While Sharpe and Harris have been out, Jaylen Bell and Ryland Gandy have taken their spots. That experience will help Indiana feel more comfortable with its cornerback depth.

“I thought they both took steps forward the last two weeks,” Cignetti said. “I thought Jaylen Bell has been pretty consistent. I thought he played well against North Texas. Ryland had a couple mistakes, but he’s certainly improved and played a lot of football. I have a lot of confidence in both of them. Sometimes the best ability is availability.”

A positive update was given on freshman tight end Trevor Gibbs as well.

“Gibbs is getting close to ready to play,” Cignetti said.

There was no word on kicker Nico Radicic, who was in uniform but did not play against Howard with a rib injury.

Indiana suffered no other injuries in its Week 2 win and appears to be getting gradually healthier.

See More: Football