Indiana University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Charlotte
9/21/2024 5:07:00 PM | Football
Postgame Quotes
Charlotte at Indiana
September 21, 2024
Curt Cignetti | Indiana Head Coach
Opening Statement
CC: They had us on our heels, our defense, with some shifting motioning, running the ball right at us. I know defensive coaches aren't particularly pleased. We weren't really crisp and sharp offensively early, either. We missed some opportunities, but we did score a lot of points, had another dominant win. I thought special teams overall was solid and we'll enjoy this one for 24 hours and get ready for conference play.
About team adjusting and addressing mistakes in-game…
CC: Yeah, and I noticed that in August camp too. The highs, we didn't have those high highs and low lows. The practices were more consistent. The lows weren't as low. I think while we weren't totally on point when the game started, like you said, we didn't turn the ball over. We didn't do things that could really change the momentum of the football game, and eventually we seized the momentum and dominated the game. So, I think this team has learned a lot, and I think they've developed some pretty strong intangibles. We certainly have strong character on this football team and a lot of really good guys as well as good players. We're looking forward to what's ahead. I think the whole key right now is maintaining our focus. We can't have any distractions, and we got to stay focused, humble, and hungry.
Sometimes there's a fine line between reality and creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. They had a big win last week. I hope they don't have a letdown. And then you're looking for the letdown. Pretty soon you're finding oh, we're having a letdown, you know, during the week. I thought we had a solid week of practice and while we've started games better, it was a solid win.
On backfield depth…
CC: Yeah, that's been pretty much the plan the five years, six years since I have been a head coach, but of course it all starts up front with the O-line and tight ends. And we have quality running backs, too. The fact that we're balanced; we can run well, and that helps the passing game and the running game.
On Kurtis Rourke…
CC: I think he's playing pretty well. He will be the first to tell you it wasn't perfect, and he came back from what I thought was a really outstanding performance against UCLA with a pretty solid performance today. But that's why we recruited him, too, he had already proven himself on tape. I am extremely pleased to see the progress he's made since he started playing games. The games are different from practice, and the last three or four quarterbacks we have taken have been players of the year in the conference and one-year starters, but, like him, they played somewhere else. They all struggle in the spring and then really start to get it in fall camp, so I like where he's at. We got to continue to protect him.
On if depth is unique to this team…
CC: Yeah, a little bit but we're deeper at some positions than others. We're deep at running back, we're really deep at receiver, not quite as deep at Jamari's position. (I'm) glad to see him have some success. There were a lot of guys on the team last year who have bought in. We have great unity and character on this football team. That's easier to have when you're having success. We haven't really had a whole lot of adversity since the season started, but when you do, it should make it stronger. But we've got depth at some spots, not so much in others. I was glad to see Sharpe because he's a young guy. He's progressing.
On offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach Mike Shanahan's impact on team…
CC: That one, well, you know that's my system, don't you? (Laughter) No, Mike calls them all and Tino and Bob and all those guys, and I'll interject once in a while. I just think it's a real group effort, and we're not afraid to throw something up there. And our guys are quick learners. We have a lot of experienced players who understand football and can handle a pretty heavy plate, and if I can execute it, you're just going to put the defense in more conflict.
On halftime messaging after giving up 14 points…
CC: After halftime? When we go in at halftime, I always do a little interview on the field. The coaches are huddled up in the coach's room, and I will make my quick two or three points about big picture stuff, and then coaches make their adjustments, and then they grab their guys and I'm not with them when they do that. But, you know, we did come out and dominate the second half and going in, one of the messages to the team was, look, they got players. They're going to come out ready to play, but they do wear down, and I thought there was a point where they wore down.
On if he considers team's 4-0 record and offensive numbers a "strong start"…
CC: I think it's a pretty decent start.
On where he thinks offense has evolved…
CC: We weren't pleased with that last quarter and a half of offense and penalties and pressures on the quarterback. We're really behind the sticks. Some bad down and distances. The second game of the year, the opponent wasn't very good, but we played well, and I think that was good for our guys offensively. And we played real well against UCLA. We have a lot of guys on offense that have played successful, winning football, and now they're taking it to the Big Ten.
Indiana Student-Athletes
Kurtis Rourke | QB | Sr.
On his running ability and how that changes the way teams prepare for him…
KR: Anything to help the run game. If I can just pull one guy my way, or have another guy hold for a second, whether it's a defensive end or a corner, it helps our run game a little bit more.
On team's ability to maintain offensive efficiency throughout season…
KR: We just have to continue to stick to what we do in our training. We work really hard, and every day we come in ready to work. We're gonna need to revert back to that when adversity comes and we're gonna have to continue to stay strong and keep going.
On keys to finishing with touchdowns in red zone…
KR: We have a pretty good idea of what type of looks we are going to get, so it's really all about execution. Everything is a little bit tighter in the red zone, so being on time is especially important, so putting the emphasis throughout the week on being as fine-tuned as possible for when the time comes. We do that as much as we can and we'll get there.
Myles Price | WR | Sr.
On keys to offensive success early in season…
MP: It starts on Monday. Early in the week, every day we bring that intensity to practice. No matter how we feel, we bring that intensity, show we're ready to work, and obviously that's showing up on Saturdays.
On what it's like to have experienced team and working with them every week…
MP: It helps a lot. We're older guys, especially in the receiver room. You can install something two days before the game, and we'll have it on point by the time the game comes around.
On what stands out the most offensively…
MP: Our ability to move the ball down the field. I don't want to say it's been easy, but it has almost felt easy to move the ball down the field, and I'm really happy about that. Everybody is doing their job.
Shawn Asbury II | DB | Sr.
On first-half defense…
SA: We knew the mistakes that we were making, so we just had to make sure to go out there in the second half and fix them.
On specific first-half challenges…
SA: Their offense ran a lot of motions and shifts, so we had to communicate quickly. That offense we haven't seen a lot of before, so we had to make some adjustments.
On Jamari Sharpe starting…
SA: We knew that was going to come from Sharpe already, as he does that a lot in practice. We all trusted him and knew he was going to go out there and make plays, and that's what he went out there and did.
Kaelon Black | RB | R-Jr.
On sharing load in backfield…
KB: It's actually a blessing. Being at JMU, it was pretty much the same thing since I was a freshman. It's a blessing being able to play with all these guys because everyone is talented.
On offensive chemistry…
KB: Honestly, we are just playing really well as a team. We are continuing to clean up on those little things. It's nice to be undefeated right now, but we still have a lot of little things to work on to make sure we can maximize our full potential.
On finishing red zone possessions with touchdowns and mindset to do that…
KB: When we get to the red zone, we just think "score, score, score", but we think that every time we get the ball. It's all the mentality when we get down there to score.
Biff Poggi| | Charlotte Head Coach
Opening Statement…
BP: Congratulations to Indiana. They have a really good football team. It's not the Indiana I knew as the associate head coach at Michigan, that's for sure. They have a lot of really good players, a lot of great coaching, and they are a really confident football team. They are going to win a lot of games in the Big Ten. I am happy for Coach (Curt) Cignetti, Coach (Tino) Sunseri. I'm really happy for those guys. Quite frankly, they were just better than us. They were better than us pretty much every step of the way.
On what he saw defensively during Indiana's five consecutive touchdowns…
BP: Red. I was pissed. Defensively, we played horrible, but (Indiana) had a lot to do with that. I don't want to take anything away from them at all. That would be disrespectful, and I don't want to do that. It was interesting, (Indiana) was up 10 to nothing, we score and make it 10-7. They go down and score and make it 17-7. Five minutes left to go in the half, we score and make it 17-14 and it's a real ball game. The problem is that every time we got any momentum, our defense could not withstand the Indiana offensive barrage. They could do whatever they wanted to do.
On being first team to score two touchdowns against Indiana this season…
BP: I didn't know that. What I did like about our offense is that we have not run the ball great this year. We wanted to try to establish the run, and I thought we did it against a really good defense. That held us in. We were playing with our first two quarterbacks out. (Trexler Ivey) is a gamer.
On what is causing breakdowns in back end…
BP: When you blitz, and you don't get pressure on the quarterback, he has forever against man-to-man coverage, that's what happens. When you talk about a talented kid, (Kurtis Rourke) is really good by the way. That kid is a big-time player. It has been a thorn in our side for a year and a half; big plays in the run game and the pass game. (Indiana) had really good receivers and a really good quarterback, and they took advantage of that. If we don't get it squared away we will be having these conversations the rest of the year.
Charlotte Student-Athletes
Trexler Ivey | QB | R-Jr.
On how it felt to get first start of season…
TI: Yeah, it's always nice knowing it's your team for the week. I had so much fun all week leading these guys. There were times we wish we could get back. Indiana is a great team. They played well. We didn't play well enough, and so that's the story.
On how running game helps you as quarterback…
TI: It opens up the entire playbook. When you can run the ball effectively. When I handed the ball off, sometimes I turned around and five guys could run straight through, and then sometimes it didn't work out. I thought we did a little bit of good in both but obviously not good enough.
Dontae Balfour | DB | JR
On last year's struggles compared to this year…
DB: It's nothing really different. It's nothing about the other team. It's just about us, about being in the right spot. (It's) about being on the same page in our communication. There's nothing else to it. To be honest, we just got to execute and do our job at the end of the day.
