Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti met with the media following his team’s 56-7 blowout of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. With the victory, the Hoosiers improved to 11-9-3 all-time against Nebraska.
Indiana put up an impressive 495 yards of total offense, ending Nebraska’s streak of 13 straight games holding opponents to fewer than 400 yards. The Hoosiers had 280 yards in the air and 215 yards on the ground.
Nebraska could only muster 304 yards of total offense. Quarterback Dylan Raiola was 28-of-44 passing for 234 yards, while the running game finished with only 70 yards off 29 carries for 2.4 yards per carry.
With the win, Indiana improves to 7-0 on the season and 4-0 in the Big Ten Conference. Nebraska falls to 5-2 overall and 2-2 in the league.
Indiana will play again on Saturday, October 26, against the Washington Huskies in Bloomington. Nebraska will travel to Columbus, Ohio, to face the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Find comments from Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti on Nebraska football, the Husker defense, and quarterback Dylan Raiola by scrolling below.
Opening Statement
Syndication: The Herald-Times
Great win. Featured game. Proud of the way we approached this week and our effort today. Big game because it was this game. Dominant win.
I know people are going to ask me about Kurtis Rourke. Thought he played really well in the first half. He had a thumb on a helmet, nail kind of came off. We’ll know more tomorrow. But optimistic.
And let me say this. Shawn Asbury’s play was probably the big play in the game. There was a lot of big plays in that game, but that was a real momentum-turning play.
Thought our offensive line did a great job. We dropped our first ball of the year at receiver at the end of the game. The defense kind of got to a point there where it made it really hard on Nebraska.
Good win against a team that’s got a good tradition and history that a lot of people thought was a good football team.
On what this win says about this team with a bye week and all the possible distractions …
Syndication: The Herald-Times
It’s a veteran team with the right kind of guys. Got a good staff. It all starts at the top. I’m not going to let them get complacent, or the coaches either. I was a maniac in the fourth quarter of this game, a maniac. But we responded.
It was a tight game like I said, then we broke it open with some key plays. Back-shoulder catches got us going, hit a couple runs. They couldn’t answer. They took it down the field, had a chance to really make it a game. Asbury made that big play. I think it was fourth and eight when he made that big play. Says a lot about the character on this football team.
Got a lot of experience on this football team. Enjoy tonight. We’re the same guys that we were this morning when we woke up, right? We just kind of overcame another challenge.
On the physicality of your O-line and the way your backs took advantage of those opportunities…
Syndication: The Herald-Times
We got some real blue-collar guys up front coached by a blue-collar guy. Coach Bostad is an old-school line coach. Put a good day’s work in. Never coached for a guy like me that gets them off the field like I do (smiling).
On your assessment of Tayven Jackson and his performance today…
Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports
I mean, he’s always been the backup quarterback. I thought he played well his first opportunity at home. Second opportunity at home okay. Guy still has to practice better. It’s hard to be the second-string quarterback because you don’t get many reps. We put a lot of new stuff in in the pass game week to week. You look at the variables in terms of their coverages and defenses, right?
But I thought he went in there and did a good job. I had confidence. Team had confidence. I was proud of him.
On your rationale for having Terry Jones and Bryson Bonds play and your evaluation of their performance…
Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images
Yeah, Terry Jones started and played most of the game. Ferrell started at strong safety this week. Bryson Bonds went in when Shawn Asbury started cramping after the interception.
Terry Jones got a lot of reps at rover today. We’ll see what the tape looks like.
On the crowd and atmosphere in the stadium…
Syndication: The Herald-Times
I notice ’em. It was great because it was sold out. Michigan is sold out. Got to get Washington sold out still.
There’s a lot of excitement a lot of places, which is awesome. I could tell they were really loud. We did have some people leave, which I understand, as the game waned on. We had a pretty big lead. Always on Scott and his crew about in-game entertainment, music selection in the second half.
Keep winning, people are going to come. I felt confident it could happen here like that, too, because I’d done it at one other place that was very similar to this going in.
On what you did to throw off (Dylan) Raoila today…
David Banks-Imagn Images
They threw the ball a lot more than they had. Then they got behind, they had to throw the ball more. So he’s under pressure. Then he’s in some tough down and distance situations. Maybe he’s forcing the ball. He’s young. Very talented guy, but he’s young. We made some nice plays out there.
On what this win against a top defense say about your team…
Robert Goddin-Imagn Images
I think this says a lot about our team. I know there was a national perception that Nebraska had a pretty legit defense on a national scale. So that will open their eyes, okay?
I think this is a great team win.
On the teams offense and when the confidence and poise was developed…
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
No, I think with success comes belief, which comes confidence, which comes success, right? It’s that cycle. I think you saw that really kind of start against Western Illinois. Wasn’t a great team, but we played well. We went to UCLA and you just have seen it build off every other week.
On the Hoosier’s run game…
Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
They probably had some nice holes. The box count was probably in our favor, which tells me they were probably overplaying the RPOs. We were handing the ball off and gaining yards.
On what the team needs to do to withstand having a target on their backs…
Syndication: The Herald-Times
Yeah, you guys make that stuff up, right?
Look, this is the here and now. This is where my feet are, right? I have to be focused, locked in, learning and have a great attitude rub off on other people positively as a teammate, okay? An hour from now is a concept. Tomorrow is a concept. All there is is the here and now.
You want to improve as much as you can on a daily basis. We have a process. If there was a better way to handle it, you know what I mean, we’d have been doing that a long time ago (smiling). This is the way, right?
You go on the field, and the margin for error is like that, right? The guy catches the ball for a touchdown. That much more the DB would have tipped it away. That’s athletics.
We got to put ourselves in the best position. If you prepare properly, anything’s possible.
On what allowed Kurtis to get off to a better start…
Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports
I thought he played really well. Made plays. Ran a little bit, too. The wideouts made some catches. He threw some nice balls on those back shoulders, and those wideouts made some real nice catches.
