‘No Complacency’ – Motivated Hoosiers Stay Focused
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Distractions? They are there, if you pay attention to them, which the No. 2/2 Indiana football team (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) refuse to do.
Now comes Saturday’s game at Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium against surging UCLA (3-4, 3-1), which has won three straight under a new coaching staff by unleashing a far more productive offense. IU understands the challenge, receiver Omar Cooper Jr. says, just as it embraces the mindset necessary for another victory.
“It’s knowing that anything can happen,” Cooper Jr. says. “We can’t be complacent. We have a goal we want to achieve. We all want to play in the Big Ten championship game. We want to win the Big Ten championship. We want to play in the playoffs again.”
Last season’s playoff run ended with an opening round defeat at Notre Dame, which went on to lose to Ohio State in the national title game.
The Hoosiers, Cooper Jr. says, are determined to do better.
“Last year, we felt we missed out on an opportunity. We want to get back there and get further than we did. That’s our motivation.”
A motivated Indiana team thrives with dominating offense and defense. By averaging 43.9 points and allowing 11.6, it’s the only FBS team to rank in the top five nationally in scoring and points allowed.
There’s no let up with a Curt Cignetti-coached team, among the reasons why he’s made the Dodd Trophy midseason watch list. The award recognizes on-field success as well as scholarship, leadership, and integrity.
The preparation, says defensive lineman Stephen Daley, a Kent State transfer, is different than what he’s previously experienced.
“The preparation is intense,” Daley says, “but he takes care of us. Practices are not long. We're in and out quick, so it lets us be able to rest our bodies.
“Also, that lets us watch more film on teams in meetings. That's probably the biggest difference. Practices are hard and competitive like practice should be, but they are also quick enough to where we're able to rest our bodies and be fresh for Saturdays to play fast, physical, and relentless.”
While IU has lost defensive lineman Kellan Wyatt for an extended period of time to a knee injury suffered in last Saturday’s win over Michigan State, the Hoosiers have stayed relatively healthy. Part of that is due to Cignetti’s shorter-practice approach as well as the training methods of director of athletic performance Derek Owings.
“I've always been a relatively short practice guy,” Cignetti says. “My practices probably have gotten even shorter through the years. We do everything we can to prepare the team fully but keep them fresh and healthy.”
As far as Owings’ training approach, offensive lineman Carter Smith says, “He sticks by his main motto -- ‘motion is lotion.’ We get full range of motion in squatting. He wants the knees completely sealed off, you know, (butt) to the floor.
“It’s being able to get a full range of motion, and then we do a lot of stretches before our workouts that help with injury prevention stuff. This staff has been great with that.”
Through it all, Cooper Jr. adds, Cignetti makes sure the Hoosiers have the right mindset.
“His message depends on how we come out at practice. If we come out sluggish, or we come out like we feel like we've done something, he's going to be hard on us. He's going to coach us to the level he wants us to play at. He continues to push us to make sure we are not focused on what happened in the past and that we understand we have a big game coming up.”
Saturday is the next big game and the Hoosiers, Smith says, aren’t misled by UCLA’s record. They view the Bruins as a 3-0 team with a huge upside after beating Penn State, Michigan State, and Maryland.
“I watched film on the Michigan State game, the Penn State game,” Smith says. “I’ve kept the focus on the staff they have now. They went to Michigan State and got the job done.”
While the UCLA offense has gotten most of the accolades with a keep-it-simple-so-everyone-knows-what-to-do approach -- during its last three games, it’s averaged 33.3 points and 233.3 rushing yards, converted 50 percent of third downs, and possessed the ball for 36.6 minutes -- the defense has also improved. The Bruins switch from four-man defensive fronts to five-man fronts in the red zone to even a 2-4-5 scheme.
“They run a lot of things,” Smith says. “One of the more unique things that they do is they run two freshmen in there to get guys who are quicker and better in passing situations. It's something that we have to find our targets and get fitted up well.”