Postgame Quotes vs. Purdue
11/30/2024 11:00:00 PM | Football
Postgame Quotes
Purdue at Indiana
November 30, 2024
Curt Cignetti | Indiana Head Coach
Opening Statement
CC: Good win. I thought our defense was tremendous tonight. Swarmed the ball. Stopped the run. Created a lot of turnovers. I think they got an early first down on a PI call, and I don't remember them getting another first down until the end of the half.
So offensively we had made enough plays but missed some opportunities, too, but made some big plays. So it's a tremendous win. We certainly made a statement again. Can't say enough about what this team, you know, has done between the white lines. But they are not satisfied. They are not done yet. You know, they are not -- they want more. They are going to get more.
So it's a rivalry game, and I thought we really took it to them. That's it.
On needing style points to make a difference to the playoff committee…
CC: Well, you know, I think we had the largest margin victory of any team in the country up until last week. I'm not sure where we were coming into this game because obviously we did not beat Ohio State.
So what I would say is, most of the games we played with, we've handled the opponent pretty well where we wouldn't have the largest margin of victory in the country.
But obviously style points are important this time of year, right. Style points of earned, right. But more than anything else, we wanted to play from the first play to the last play in a rivalry game that Indiana had not won in four or five years.
I thought we had a great crowd, just about sold out to start and some of them left at half-time. I guess they got a little cold, or I don't know what, but we'll fix that again.
But I appreciate them all coming back, and yeah, sure. I mean, I thought we had to play well tonight, and I think we did.
On what has allowed this team to be so consistent and leaving no doubt about this team…
CC: I just think we have a lot of older guys that have made a lot of plays throughout their career consistently, and they are very consistent people, high character. We have a very consistent standard of performance.
I think our assistant coaches and players do a nice job, a good job coaching them, and we preach about playing one play at a time, first play to last, like it's 0-0 regards to the competitive circumstances, never too high, never too low, physical, relentless, smart, disciplined, poised. Our guys buy into that, and we've been fairly consistent this year.
On the group of seniors buying in and the team culture…
CC: It's been going on from the get-go, and like I told you guys a number of times I really felt in December, like we flipped the roster with these guys. Like I felt that then. And winter was good. Spring was good. Summer was good. Fall camp. But you've got to put it on the field.
So you know, when you got capable people that are very motivated, right, disciplined and committed, and all think alike, like they keep their eye on the bull's eye, and there's no personal agendas, anything is possible. You know, this group has proven that.
On Jailin Walker and Kurtis Rourke's performances tonight…
CC: Yeah, I've always considered Jailin Walker an impact player. He's a will linebacker that can play, run and hit guys from Richmond, Virginia. He made some huge plays for us at JMU, and he's got a nose for the football, and nobody likes playing football more than that guy. You know, he's a tough guy to block and he can do a lot of things. He's a great athlete.
And Kurtis, you know, he got sacked once or twice early in the game, and then we got it going. Kind of got it humming and he was right on the button and we were getting some yards after the catch and protect shored up, so it was good to see that offense scoring points in bunches again.
On what the ride has been like for you as a coach and the JMU athletes you brought along…
CC: Truthfully I've taken kind of a businesslike approach to it, and I've been with those guys a long time. So it was kind of like business as usual, seeing them do it for such a long time.
Then you add all the other ones, Kurtis and Justice Ellisons and Myles Prices and Ke'Shawn Williamses and CJ West, and I'm going to forget somebody, Asbury and Jones and Ponds, all those guys. So it's been a great year. But it's not totally shocking to me. I've said early that we were capable of doing this, and we have.
My wife will tell you that the night I accepted the job, right, that we were laying in bed, and I said, Look at this schedule, there's ten wins on this schedule. And of course at that point I was sort of hedging whether to stay or couple.
And then Scott called ten minutes later and told me I was the next head coach at Indiana.
And I said, Okay.
And he said, We're going to shock the world.
And I said, Ehh, right, we are.
On your next game being in the College Football Playoffs against a high caliber opponent…
CC: What do you mean a higher caliber?
On the teams bounce back from the Ohio State loss…
CC: I think the Ohio State game, look, nobody is happy with what happened there, okay. But I think we come out of there stronger and learned some good lessons, and I'm talking mainly about the crowd noise and how to deal with that particular -- on the road with that kind of crowd.
So you know, the first round is played either home or at somebody else's place and then after that, it plays on a neutral site. So we are not going to get too far ahead of ourselves. We are going to enjoy this for 24 hours and move on and we'll have our routine for this week.
On what the next couple of weeks…
CC: Well, you know, next week, we'll sit down with the assistant coaches, the players and me for one-on-one meetings and talk about the season and talk about near and stuff like that.
Coaches will do a lot of recruiting evaluation once assigned a date and the following week will be an open bye week before your first CFP game. And then you're in game week.
But in the meantime, you've got portal guys visiting and you've got all kinds of stuff going on, trust me.
On reflecting on an 11-1 record and how much the team has changed in a year…
CC: I think I've answered that question a couple times. You know, in this business, you just move on to the next thing because there's always something that needs done and you're so process oriented, you know what I mean.
I'm going to enjoy it when I go up to my office with my family and go home and enjoy it a little bit. Of course the games will be over so there's not much football to be watched. Bring coaches in a little later and we'll get a little work done and then maybe work four or five hours. That will be it.
You get it enjoy it right afterwards, when I finish this, and get to spend some time and maybe have a beverage. But at my age, it's one or two beverages.
Indiana Student-Athletes
Mike Katic | OL | R-Sr. +
On what it means to play for Indiana…
MK: It is the greatest feeling ever playing for this university, fans and alumni. Everything has meant so much to me. I sit back and look at my career, and I don't even know what to say. I am so blessed to be in this position and with this great university. It's awesome.
On when he knew or believed this Indiana team would be special…
MK: Early on in spring ball, I knew we had a special team. But it wasn't until we went to the Rose Bowl and took care of business at UCLA when I realized that we have a really, really special team. We are going to do really special things, and you see it on the field.
On educating the transfers on the team about this rivalry…
MK: I made it my goal and my job to educate all of the transfers on the rivalry. Some guys still didn't understand it because they hadn't lost to Purdue, and they hadn't been through everything that comes with the loss. I think the team did a great job of handling everything and putting it out on the field.
Elijah Sarratt | WR | Jr.
On what his individual performance means to him today…
ES: It's great. I have been putting in the work throughout the week, so I'm glad I got to go out there and show it to everyone. I wanted to bounce back because I had a couple of drops these past few games. I wanted to bounce back in this game, and I want to keep it going for the next couple of weeks.
On the offense finding its rhythm again during this game…
ES: Yeah, it felt great. I felt like we were clicking again. We were playing kind of slow these past couple of games, but we got a lot of good reps out there today . We have a lot of good stuff we put on tape, and we just have to keep building on that.
On the offense's ruthlessness and efficiency…
ES: We don't pay any attention to point differentials and all of that stuff. We just go out there and go to work. We know we're gonna get the other team's best shot, especially in a rivalry game. You just have to take all of the records out of it and play your best game.
Kurtis Rourke | QB | R-Sr. +
On the offense getting back on track this week…
KR: It was really awesome to get back on schedule. We've been practicing hard, and we wanted to get back to the offense we're used to, balancing the run and pass. It was really nice to see, and hopefully we can carry the momentum into whatever is next for us.
On the performance from the Indiana defense today…
KR: Our defense has been phenomenal all year. They've had our back the whole season. Hats off to everyone on the defense that's there getting us the ball. Our field position in this game was phenomenal. It helps to have a defense that is so strong in all areas.
Jailin Walker | LB | Sr.
On Cignetti saying he is an impact player…
JW: I mean I was his day one when I came to JMU, my first day there. I always trusted him. Trust goes a long way. With him saying that, it means a lot to me. With him saying he can trust me, and he thinks I'm an impact player I feel like I can show him, and I feel like that's great to have that trust with your head coach.
On having that same trust coming to IU thinking something like this is possible…
JW: Oh yeah, 100 percent. Since day one, this was the standard. Since he came in and we had our first team meeting, he laid out the standard, and we just had to follow what he said.
Mikail Kamara| DL | R-Jr.
On how appreciative you are of the 11-1 record …
MK: I'm beyond appreciative. Especially to be able to speak that into existence from way back when in spring ball. I'm just proud of my guys and I'm just excited. It's a great moment.
On this group pushing itself higher and higher…
MK: I think we just understood, especially with us being a lot of transfers. We just knew that the chemistry wasn't really built. We had a lot of guys that didn't know the scheme yet. We had only a couple guys that came from JMU, that kind of knew the scheme. Even this year, our scheme has changed a lot. It's really just week by week and cleaning up the little mistakes every single week to be able to put on a show like this today.
Ryan Walters | Purdue Head Coach
On the disappointment from the loss…
RW: It was extremely disappointing. Not only because it was a big game that you just got dominated in, but because of what was on the line in regards to the in-state rivalry. This was as dominant of a performance (by Indiana) as I've ever seen. Hats off to coach (Curt) Cignetti and what they have going on over there. All three phases physically dominated. We got out-coached, out-schemed, and everything that could have gone wrong went wrong. That happens when you're playing against a top-10 team and you don't execute. We have to figure out why we don't execute when we play against top-25 opponents. What is it from a psyche and mindset standpoint? There were routine plays out there that we make all the time in practice. We get into the game and all of a sudden we start doing other things. We can't do that against a top-10 opponent. It doesn't work.
On why things haven't clicked this season…
RW: If I knew the answer to that, it would have clicked. There were a lot of factors and things that (have happened). We have had a lot of adversity this season starting after the Nebraska game. We have had some adverse moments with some inexperience and playing against the type of opponents we have been playing. It can be hard to have success. It's my job to find ways that we can be creative and do so.
On the fake punt by Indiana…
RW: I would have probably done the same thing, to be honest. It's a rivalry game. We don"t feel sorry for anyone out there. Coach Cignetti is a competitor. It's a rivalry game, so it is what it is.
On the difficulties of recruiting through this season.…
RW: It's difficult because of the uncertainties out there. I know what I would be telling recruits if I was recruiting against us. We'll see where all that goes.
Purdue Student-Athletes
Gus Hartwig | OL | Sr.
On why the team never clicked this year…
GH: I think it was a lot. I think there were a lot, coaches and players alike, that weren't up to par to go out and play. There's a certain level of players and coaches that mesh together and that just didn't happen this year for a multitude of reasons. I'm sure Coach Walters is going to clean it up.
On the challenges of keeping the locker room positive with the outside pressures…
GH: We just have to keep everybody going. The people outside the building, their opinion doesn't matter. [We have to] just keep going and attacking what we know, keep with the process. Keep guys working and block out the noise.
On what needs to change in order for the program to succeed…
GH: I'm sure the offensive coordinator will probably be the first thing that we will try to get ironed out, fitting the players together and the scheme of the offense. [We need to meet] in the middle … this is what we'll probably work through for next year.
Kydran Jenkins | LB | Sr.
On the locker room emotions…
KJ: I just try to keep everybody positive. Keep the locker room positive. [I tried] to tell everybody to stay focused and keep working.
#NeverDaunted
