Indiana University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Western Illinois
9/6/2024 10:30:00 PM | Football
Postgame Quotes
Western Illinois at Indiana
September 6, 2024
Curt Cignetti | Indiana Head Coach
Opening Statement
CC: It was a good night. I was pleased that our team played with an edge and an attitude and at a high standard. The ones that I'm talking about didn't play down to the competition.
We emptied the bench pretty much and got a lot of people up on the field, and I was happy for them too because we had a lot of young people make plays, create some turnovers defensively. So, it was a good night.
On the team's ability to stack successful drives…
CC: I think it was equally important for the defensive stop because offense, defense, special teams. About 40 percent of your plays are on offense, 40 percent on defense, and 20 percent on special teams, and you need all three phases to do really well.
The defense was doing their job too. The only thing I wasn't pleased with was the end of the half because they kicked a field goal.
It was good. There were plays out there. We threw and caught the ball well and protected well. That's part of what we want to clean those penalties up and protect the quarterback better than we did last week.
Then I thought the second half we really established even more dominance, and they got people involved, and they made plays.
On how messaging pushed the team in the buildup to gameday…
CC: I thought every day built on the last. Tuesday wasn't a great day. I talked to the team afterwards about it. I don't talk to the team after every practice. Most of them I do.
I had some things to say, and I had a captive audience. They applied it the next day, and we had a really good day the day before the game. We went out in shoulder pads and helmets and practiced the day before the game.
Then they were charged up in the locker room before the game and came out and played pretty well.
On Tyrique Tucker's development…
CC: I'm really proud of him. His brother played for me. He was an All-American linebacker, 5'8-1/2" linebacker, finished his career at Texas.
Tyrique has really improved every year. He's a great guy. He's overcome a lot in his life and really does great in classrooms. He's a great teammate. He's really improved every single year as a player. So I'm really proud of him and happy for his success.
On continuing to create turnovers throughout the season…
CC: That would be nice. That's momentum and points, so it was good to see.
On two-minute defense…
CC: There were probably a couple mistakes in there. I think we had subbed a little bit at certain positions also. I don't want to speak on it too much without watching the tape.
You've got to finish the half well. You've got to start the third quarter well. We've been starting the third quarter well, but we haven't finished the half well. We've been starting the game well and finishing the game well too.
There's a lot more positives, but just like 98 percent of the teams in the country, we have a couple things to work on and improve on.
On the value of a "small ramp-up" before next week's game at UCLA…
CC: We just play them. They choose the schedule, and I get them ready to play and put them in the best positions, me and the staff. We play as well as we can on gameday.
We develop this team every single day with the intangibles. We develop the culture and mindset, the identity and how they think, which is critical in how we play.
The schedule is what it is. We'll enjoy this one and think about the next one tomorrow or Sunday.
On how Rolijah Hardy has turned into a playmaker…
CC: I think he's got a real chance. We like him. He really started to take some steps forward at the end of fall camp, moving to that No. 2 linebacker spot behind Fisher, although Isaiah Jones is kind of a swing guy there too.
[He is a] good athlete, comes from a great high school program, Lakeland, family of athletes, have had good success collegiately. He looked really good when he caught that ball, showed good natural hands, good movement getting in there.
The other young guy got involved tonight too, Charlie Becker, really brought up this week and had a nice week of practice. So, [it's] good to see those young guys making some plays early in their career.
On importance of chemistry across the offensive line…
CC: Some of it's relative to who you play too. I hope we create those kind of numbers later in the season, and then we'll be a hot item on the clinic circuit.
So we're just doing the best we can every single game, and we'll put the best plan together for next week. Thanks.
Indiana Student-Athletes
Mikail Kamara/DL/Redshirt Junior
On how important it is to establish a defensive identity that is disruptive…
MK: Coming from the JMU staff and everything that we did over there, there's nothing really new. We've got to come out and show that in Big Ten play. As long as we can get that stuff on film and game plan for our offense, we can be a problem for opponents.
On how much confidence the team can take away from this game going into Big Ten play…
MK: There's a lot of confidence after the win. Sometimes it can kill the vibes though if we get too high. As long as we use this as a confidence boost, we will keep rolling as a team.
Elijah Sarratt/WR/Junior
On his improvement since last week and getting involved early…
ES: It felt great. I always liked being involved early on. Once again, shoutout to my coach for allowing me and putting me in a position to get the ball. I thank him.
On playing with Kurtis Rourke...
ES: Very fun. It's always fun playing with him. I've never not had fun playing with him. You all saw it, he is on one right now, clicking on all cylinders.
On playing for Indiana's high-scoring offense...
ES: This was one of the most fun games I have ever been a part of. Not just for me because I had a big game, but being able to see all my other guys go out there and be able to score. It's a great atmosphere out there, and I hope we keep that rolling.
Joe Davis | Western Illinois Head Coach
On what he can build on heading into next week's rivalry against Illinois State…
JD: I think we are still searching for the right pieces in the right spots. It's unfortunate to get off to such a slow start here for two weeks in a row and not generate any momentum on either side of the ball [... It] just puts us in such a massive hole early that is hard to dig yourself out of. As a coaching staff, looking at personnel, looking at schemes, and seeing what is the best fit and who are the best people (on the field) next Saturday will be important for us this week.
On the similarities and differences in coaching against Curt Cignetti again…
JD: I don't know if there was a massive schematic difference. (Indiana) just out-executed us. I think that was pretty apparent to any novice football fan from the jump, offensively and defensively. They got off to a fast start and we did not match their energy. We did not match their physicality. That game got away from us so quickly that it was hard to be competitive.
On the differences between week one and week two…
JD: I don't think (Indiana) did much differently at all. Early in the game, especially in the first half as a coaching staff, we thought that we had a really great gameplan. We had the right guys in the right spots early. We're still lacking significantly from a lack of execution. That is something that we are going to have to work on moving forward.
