Postgame Quotes: vs. FIU
8/31/2024 11:31:00 AM | Football
Postgame Quotes
FIU at Indiana
August 31, 2024
Curt Cignetti | Indiana Head Coach
Opening Statement
CC: Okay. I thought it was a really crisp start. Jumped up 21-nothing. Had it clicking in all three phases and then from the middle of the second quarter to halftime, really sloppy ball on both sides. Defense's credit. We shut them out in the second half, held them under 200 yards, thought that was good, teams were solid. But offense, just too many opportunities squandered. And then protection, and just gotta get better there. Gotta learn to play the lead. Gotta learn to play the lead. Jump up to 21-nothing, man, gotta keep the edge.
So there's a lot of things we're trying to change here. Another thing we're trying to change in tradition is we gotta keep the people in the seats after halftime. We need to create a power four environment in the stadium. But we gotta play better, too. Questions.
On the way you played today…
CC: At the end of the game I made my statement, and we have to play better. I was disappointed the way we played when we jumped up 21-nothing. But I did think defensively other than one drive, we played well.
On the Hoosiers' defense…
CC: We were swarming the football, doing a nice job of -- in the pass game for the most part, putting pressure on the quarterback, created a turnover or two. And so, again, other than the one drive, I thought I saw pretty significant improvement and the team had a chance.
On the disruption at the line of scrimmage from the defense…
CC: Yeah. Those TFLs and sacks are great. I didn't know the numbers. But we've always been high in TFLs and sacks, and we have guys that have the ability to do that, too. So I think it's something to build on.
For his first game in uniform, how do you access the way Kurtis Rourke played today?
CC: I thought he made some plays, scrambled out of the pocket, made a couple of plays, and then the protection broke down a little bit on him. He missed two to four reads, which is going to happen in a football game, and familiarity with scheme and things like that, just playing more snaps. We left at least ten plays out there offensively, but not the quarterback. Not the quarterback.
So, yeah, I like the way he moved around because he hadn't been hit and made some nice throws.
On the running game…
CC: We had some real nice chunks in the run game, and most of the pressure I saw was coming off the edge in the pass game. So, you know, we would get the run game going in the second half in chunks, chunks, chunks, kind of breaking their will. Then we'd throw it, you know, and go backwards. Those guys are capable. We're going to be okay there. Yeah.
On the offensive changes and surprise plays…
CC: The offense changes week to week based on the opposition. You know, we threw a couple of surprise type plays at them early in the game, and they worked, and had one again there early in the second half that should have worked for a touchdown. And as the game was going on, I was wishing that we had a few more, to be honest with you. We didn't have that many to make. Want to see us play offense like we started those first three out of four series.
On Andrew Turvy and what he showed you in fall camp to earn playing time today…
CC: Yeah. Walk-on, and plays really hard, and he's smart. He does what he's supposed to do because our defense is pretty heavy. You know, there's a lot of adjustments, and there's some read and react after the ball's been snapped based on how linemen play. And he's a real dependable guy. And that's all we needed was somebody over there at that particular time to sort of do what he was supposed to do because there were plays to be made.
On your staff and the ability to recruit the right players...
CC: Most of those guys are proven guys. You know what I mean? So we made some plays out there. We're capable of making more.
On the status of Donaven McCulley…
CC: He was getting involved early and got hit and went back in there for a little bit, and then that was it for him. So we'll see what happens. He wasn't medically cleared to go back in.
On how the rushing attack played today…
CC: Yeah. There was some nice creases and some nice cuts, nice chunks, and now we gotta take the next step and with a little bit better down-field blocking or breaking a tackle here and there, those 12- and 13-yard gains become 25 and 30 and 40. I was really impressed with Elijah Green that last play. I mean, he broke through with a 2-0 line and showed speed and burst, and they couldn't catch him.
On the eight penalties in today's game…
CC: Yeah. Good job, defense. Too many penalties. There were quite a few penalties in scrimmages. It was a focus to eliminate the penalties. But I think when you look around college football, you're seeing that in the openers right now. It's almost like they're teachable moments and they learn from it the next game. I'm not making an excuse by any means because we didn't want to have any. I am pleased that we didn't have turnovers because I was worried about penalties and turnovers. So we don't have to teach that, which was good. But we gotta do better in that area.
On the depth of the receivers and who dictates the rotation of them…
CC: I thought early on they made some plays, and Cross made a really nice catch. We just wanted them to play fast; and if they played four, five, six plays in a row and all of a sudden they run a deep route, we try to get a new group in there. And sometimes we'll sub out a whole three-wide group for another three-wide group. We have a lot of capable guys. Thank you.
Indiana Student-Athletes
Aidan Fisher / LB / Jr.
On the chemistry with other transfers coming from James Madison…
AF: Initially in this first game, we are working on building continuity. There are a lot of new faces here, offensively and defensively. Being able to have Jailin Walker from JMU, we were able to build that continuity amongst us in the linebacker room and that branches out to the defensive backs and defensive line. I think you could see that today. Obviously there are a lot of things that need to be worked out, it's the first game with a lot of new faces. With having Jailin, I have been able to rely on him with a lot of the same checks and similar things that we have done at James Madison which we brought here.
On the way the defense bounced back after the last drive of the second half…
AF: The end of the second quarter did not go the way that we expected. We did a lot of sloppy and messy things, missed tackles, bad angles, and that is not what our defense is about. It is the first game, so we will have to assess those things. Coming out in the second half, being able to shut them out, I think that we played solid. There are a lot of things to grow and learn from.
On the performance of the defensive line…
AF: They made my job pretty easy. We have four guys who go out there and dominate every play. I'm just playing behind them and making plays based off of what they do. Allowing them to play fast allows me to play fast and make those explosive plays.
Ty Son Lawton / RB / Sr.
On the off-season and the depth, and what it means to have so many people contributing…
TL: It really is a blessing to have a group like we have. Elijah (Green) didn't come in until towards the end of the game, but he still showed that he can be a factor in our run game. Again, it's a blessing to have the guys that we have.
On the overall performance in today's game…
TL: I felt good. I wasn't really satisfied with the amount of points the offense put up. I felt like there were definitely opportunities to put more on the scoreboard, but it was a good win overall.
On finding out you earned the starting position, and what it's like to be in a running back room like this…
TL: Honestly, I really didn't know anything. Yesterday, we did a walk through, and I was in the group with the starters, so that's when I really found out. When Coach Cignetti was at James Madison, he would always have three-back rotations, so I'm used to this by now.
Zach Horton / TE / Sr.
On the impact that the fast start had on him mentally…
ZH: I feel like sometimes when you go up in the game like that you can become pretty comfortable. You start to lose sight of what is going on. You are just going through the motions when you become comfortable. We have to stay uncomfortable in situations like that and find a way to keep working, put together drives, and finish the game the way that we want to.
On whether the team used the entire offensive playbook throughout the game…
ZH: We have a deep playbook, I would say. Obviously we didn't show everything, but we took our shots when we felt like we needed to. We were doing very well in the run game, so we continued to pound the ball and keep doing what we were doing.
On what worked well within the offense today…
ZH: A lot of the run plays were working really well. We had around 200 yards rushing in the game. I feel like we were picking out what plays we wanted. We saw what they were doing, and adjusted to that and picked them apart.
Mike MacIntyre| FIU Head Coach
Opening Statement
MM: I thought Indiana did some good things. I also thought that we shot ourselves in the foot a few times, which really hurt us. We didn't capitalize on some opportunities that we had. I saw a lot of good things out of our guys, but we have a lot to improve on, especially in our tackling area. We have to keep working on that.
On playing with the new helmet communication…
MM: It helped us some, but it kept messing up. It kept going in and out all the time on us. We have been working on it for a while. I don't know why it keeps going in and out. I don't know if there is something wrong with the system when we come to different stadiums. We have to get that remedy fixed. It's been a problem ever since we got it. We have been working with it and have had people coming in from the company, but it's not working like it should.
On the performance from Keyone Jenkins…
MM: Keyone did some really good things and then held the ball too long a couple of times, which he will learn. In quick game, he needs to throw it on quick gain and throw it away. He will keep getting better at that. I thought he did some good things. We had some opportunities to score, and we made some dumb penalties after a play that we can not have, so we will address that.
On the progress of Rocky Beers…
MM: Rocky has been playing really well, and he left the game. I have to find out more about the injury. We need Rocky, so hopefully he will be able to come back next week. He has improved, and he is a really good Tight End, a good weapon for us that if he can't play we will definitely miss him.
