Video, Quotes: Curt Cignetti reacts to IU football’s win at Rutgers

Curt Cignetti addressed the media following IU football’s 47-15 win against Rutgers on Saturday at SHI Stadium.

Watch his full postgame press conference below:

Opening statement: “Okay, good win on the road in our first Big Ten game. I was really concerned about this game going in. I thought Rutgers had really improved as a football team.

“Played very competitively in their prior two P4 games and had a lot of offensive weapons. And you don’t want to get into a scoring match on the road. I thought our defense was tremendous in shutting them down until the end when the game was in hand. And offense made a lot of plays. We had a lot of outstanding individual efforts. And it’s a good win.”

On the running back situation this week:

“Yeah, well, this injury report thing daily, I guess, is sometimes you’re wondering whether the list of guys probable or doubtful or questionable. But we had good news on Turbo early in the week and felt confident about him. Beebe kind of came up with something midweek and there was some concern. But after about 24 hours, we felt pretty good about him.

On whether there was a concerted effort to get Hoover into rhythm early:

“Not really. I mean, the game plan’s always kind of like put your players in the best position to make plays and be successful. And we had a lot of success throwing the RPO early to Marsh. And they started changing up the coverage a little bit. They had a hard time tackling them. So he had pretty good night’s work.”

On his overall assessment on the defense and how he weighs a shutout versus the two late touchdowns:

“I mean, game’s in hand. They throw, guy’s a great player. Made a great catch. Coverage was tight. When the game’s over, you’d like to kind of get it over as quickly as possible. Not get anybody hurt. Get some other guys in. Get them some experience. But it doesn’t always work out that way.

“I thought we had an outstanding defensive effort. And two for 14. There’s going to be plays that weren’t so great. Coaches will critique. But I thought it was a good team win.”

On not having a penalty in the game and the environment:

“That was the thing that really was the unknown, I thought, about this game the whole week, was how loud would it be because it was sell-out, black-out, advertised as such. I was concerned about false starts and going on the road and doing things. Before you win it, you can’t lose it. And that was great to see.”

On the missed kicks:

“It must have been something with the moon and the stars. I don’t know. Aquarius. I had a guy at JMU that set an NCAA record for consecutive field goals. And one night, he missed like three chip shots. We lost by one point, one of our few losses. And when Radicic missed that extra point and then field goal, I had a flashback. And then he drilled that 48-yarder. He’ll be fine.”

On the long completion from Hoover to Becker:

“No, it’s great. If you can stretch a field vertically and horizontally, then you’ve got to get it in inside the tent consistently.”

On Stephen Daley’s improvement:

“Daley, I think, was a little further ahead than Kellan when they came back. And now Kellan’s starting to round back in the form.”

On whether IU’s success gives hope to a program like Rutgers:

“Yeah, well, I think success starts at the top with a commitment and alignment. From the president to the athletic director, it takes a certain amount of financial commitment to be successful. Doesn’t mean you have to be number one or in the top 10 in certain things.

“But you’ve got to be competitive, and that’s what we’ve tried to do. And I think Greg Schiano, what he’s done at Rutgers, he’s had two great runs. And it’s a little tougher around this time in the Big 10. And can it get done? Yeah, I mean, it can get done. But Greg’s a great football coach.”

On the play of the offensive line:

“Well, we must have played pretty well, because we did gain a lot of yards, and we didn’t have that many sacks. And backs ran well, and there were some creases. So we felt they’ve given up some points, and we thought we’d have to score some points. But we made a lot of big plays, and that was good to see.”

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