What Curt Cignetti said after No. 16 Indiana’s 56-7 win over Nebraska

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Curt Cignetti struck a confident tone Saturday. After No. 16 Indiana beat No. 16 Nebraska 56-7 at Memorial Stadium, who can blame him?

Here’s everything Cignetti had to say to the media after the win.

Opening speech…

Cignetti: Great win. Recommended game. Proud of the way we approached this week and our performance today. Great game because it was that game. Dominant victory.

I know people will ask me about Kurtis Rourke. In my opinion he played really well in the first half. He had his thumb on his helmet and the nail came loose. We’ll know more tomorrow. But optimistic.

And let me say this. Shawn Asbury’s play (a 78-yard interception return) was probably the big play in the game. There were a lot of big plays in this game, but this was a really momentum-setting play.

I think our offensive line did a great job. At the end of the game we dropped our first ball of the year to the receiver. The defense was at a point where it was really making things difficult for Nebraska.

Good win against a team with a good tradition and history that many people thought was a good football team.

At the team meeting right now…

Cignetti: It is an experienced team with the right people. Have a good staff. Everything starts at the top. I will not allow them and the coaches to become complacent. I was a lunatic, a lunatic, in the fourth quarter of that game. But we reacted.

It was a close game, as I said, but then we made a breakthrough with some crucial plays. Back-shoulder catches got us going and scored a few runs. They couldn’t answer. They nailed it on the field and had a chance to really make it a game. Asbury made this big play. I think it was fourth-and-8 when he made that big play. Says a lot about the character of this football team.

I have a lot of experience in this football team. Enjoy tonight. We’re the same guys we were when we woke up this morning, right? We have just overcome another challenge.

The physicality on the offensive line and how the running backs took advantage of it…

Cignetti: We have a few real workers at the top who are trained by a worker. Coach Bostad is an old school line coach. I invested a good day. I’ve never trained for a guy like me, who gets them off the field like I do (smiling).

These guys are tight, they are tough guys. The backs we have are all about the same. They are good players. Perimeter blocking is also important. Explosive plays happen with great downfield blocking, so…

About Tayven Jackson…

Cignetti: I mean, he’s always been the backup quarterback. I thought he made good use of his first chance at home. Second opportunity at home okay. Guy needs to practice better. It’s hard being the second-string quarterback because you don’t get a lot of reps. We’ve added a lot of new things to the passing game week after week. You look at the variables in terms of their coverage and defense, right?

But I thought he went in there and did a good job. I had self-confidence. The team had self-confidence. I was proud of him.

About Terry Jones and Bryson Bonds playing more…

Cignetti: Yes, Terry Jones started and played most of the game. Ferrell started this week at strong safety. Bryson Bonds went in when Shawn Asbury cramped after the interception.

Terry Jones got a lot of reps at Rover today. We’ll see what the tape looks like.

How much the audience helped Indiana’s cause…

Cignetti: I notice her. It was great because it sold out. Michigan is sold out. Washington still has to sell out.

There’s a lot of excitement in a lot of places, which is great. I noticed that they were really loud. We had a few people leave from what I understand as the game died down. We had a pretty big lead. Scott and his crew are always on the cutting edge when it comes to in-game entertainment and second half music selections.

Keep winning, people will come. I was confident that it could happen here too because I had already done it in another place that was very similar to this one.

How Indiana unsettled Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola…

Cignetti: They threw the ball much more often than before. Then they fell behind and had to throw the ball more. So he is under pressure. Then he finds himself in difficult down and distance situations. Maybe he’ll force the ball. He’s young. Very talented guy, but he’s young. We did some nice pieces out there.

As for what the performance says about Indiana’s offense…

Cignetti: I think that says a lot about our team. I know there was a perception nationally that Nebraska had a pretty legitimate defense. So this will open their eyes, okay?

I think this is a great team win.

On Indiana’s offensive confidence…

Cignetti: No, I think with success comes belief, which comes with confidence, which comes with success, right? It’s that cycle. I think you saw that real start against Western Illinois. It wasn’t a great team, but we played well. We were at UCLA and you could just see it growing every two weeks.

To the Indiana running game…

Cignetti: They probably had some nice holes. The box count was probably in our favor, which tells me they probably overstated the RPOs. We passed the ball and gained yards.

When they have a target on their back…

Cignetti: Yeah, you guys made this stuff up, right?

Look, this is the here and now. Here are my feet, right? I need to be focused, focused, learning, and have a great attitude that has a positive impact on other people as a teammate, okay? An hour in the future is a concept. Tomorrow is a concept. There is only the here and now.

You want to improve as much as possible every day. We have a process. If there was a better way to handle this, you know what I mean, we would have done this a long time ago (smiling). That’s the right way, right?

When you go out on the field, the margin for error is so high, right? The guy catches the ball for a touchdown. The DB would have given a tip all the more. This is athletics.

We have to put ourselves in the best position. If you prepare properly, anything is possible.

About Kurtis Rourke’s better start…

Cignetti: I thought he played really well. made plays. I also ran a bit. The wideouts made some catches. He threw some nice balls to the back shoulders and those wideouts made some really nice catches.

Thank you very much.