NOTEBOOK: ‘Mission’ Over History for Second-Ranked Hoosiers
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Forget history, at least for now. Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti wants his second-ranked Hoosiers (10-0 overall, 7-0 in the Big Ten) focused on the task at hand -- Saturday against Wisconsin (3-6, 1-5) at Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium, then at rival Purdue (2-8, 0-7) in the Nov. 28 regular-season finale, and the postseason after that.
“We’re on a little bit of a mission,” Cignetti said during Monday’s media availability. “That’s been the focus. That’s how the kids are thinking, too.”
History includes a second-straight 10-0 start, something that has never been done in the program’s previous 120-plus years. The Hoosiers’ 7-0 Big Ten start is also the second-straight year it’s done that, another program first.
The goal is to improve on last season’s 1-2 finish, with road losses to Ohio State and Notre Dame.
“This team was put together … we feel good about the pieces we added,” Cignetti said. “You never know about your team until you start playing the games and then you build off your successes and develop belief and confidence, a little more team unity and intangibles.”
IU’s last regular season home game looms large for seniors such as linebacker Aiden Fisher, defensive lineman Mikail Kamara and running back Kaelon Black. They’ve helped set a never-before-achieved level of Hoosier excellence. All three came to IU with Cignetti from James Madison.
“Those guys have been tremendous foundational pieces for the program back at JMU and here at Indiana,” Cignetti said. “They're great players, great people, great leaders. There are a number of them.
“I doubt that any of them are thinking about the end right now because everybody understands where we're at and what's possible.”
Wisconsin is coming off a 13-10 win over top-25 Washington to snap a six-game losing streak. After losing badly at home to Iowa (37-0) and Ohio State (34-0), the Badgers played better in a 21-7 road loss to Oregon before beating Washington.
Wisconsin won with bruising running (157 yards) and dominating defense.
Freshman quarterback Carter Smith, replacing injured starter Danny O’Neil, ran for a touchdown in his Badger debut. He was 3-for-12 for eight yards. Freshman linebacker Cooper Catalano had 19 tackles. Fellow freshman linebacker Mason Posa had 11 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and the fumble recovery that set up Smith’s TD.
Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell said Smith, O’Neil and Hunter Simmons all got practice reps at quarterback leading up to the victory.
Simmons and O’Neil have shared the starting role this season. Simmons completes 50.5 percent of his passes for 485 yards, two touchdowns with five interceptions. O’Neil completes 67.8 percent of his passes for 635 yards and five touchdowns against five interceptions.
The Badgers average 12.6 points and allow 22.3. Dilin Jones is the leading rusher with 300 yards and two touchdowns. Gideon Ituka has 223 yards. Vinny Anthony II is the top receiver with 26 catches for 291 yards and a touchdown. Lance Mason has 22 catches for 276 yards and three touchdowns.
The Badgers opened the season with wins over Miami of Ohio and Middle Tennessee before a 38-14 loss at Alabama started the losing streak.
“(Wisconsin) is a tough, gritty football team,” Cignetti said. “They've had a murderer's row schedule: Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan, Iowa, Washington, Alabama, you name it. I've got a lot of respect for Coach Fickell. He's a proven winner.
“The guy has had a starting quarterback available about 30 percent of the time during his tenure at Wisconsin. That's tough duty.”
Cignetti got emotional during his post-game TV interview after the Penn State victory. It was in part because of the toughness the Hoosiers showed on the game-winning drive as well as the challenges he’d faced as a player and a coach coming to Beaver Stadium. Cignetti was a quarterback at West Virginia, then a graduate assistant at Pitt, and later a quarterback/tight ends coach at Pitt.
“I did get a little choked up there at the end because I was so proud of our guys,” he said. “Our backs were against the wall. Boy, it wasn't looking very good, and in that venue, 105,000 people, and Penn State was playing really well.
“Let me tell you, Penn State has got players. I give them a lot of credit. I've got a lot of respect for that program. That was a great place to play. Their fans were awesome. They had it cranked up, and we found a way to flip the switch and get the momentum back and make the plays.
“It meant a lot. I guess part of it probably I was thinking about a little bit. My first time in that stadium was 1971 and every two years I was in that stadium for about 15, 16 years, and I can tell you there were a lot of long rides home. Not many happy rides home.
“You think about my (coaching) journey. Ten, 15 years ago, did I ever think I'd lead a team into that stadium? No. Did I expect to lead a team into that stadium victorious? But it mainly centered around how our guys responded and the challenge that they overcame to get it done.”
IU is 21-2 under Cignetti and has become a top-10 fixture. The result, the coach says, is that the Hoosiers are “going to get everybody’s best shot.”
“We're not sneaking up on anyone anymore. We got Iowa's best shot at Iowa. We got Penn State's best shot at Penn State. Oregon was obviously a big game on the road, and we'll get Wisconsin's best shot. So, we've got to have a good week of preparation.”
Receiver Charlie Becker has made the most of his playing opportunity in the wake of standout Elijah Sarratt’s injury. At Penn State, he had seven catches for 118 yards, with a long of 53 yards. Two of his leaping catches were spectacular, including one on the final winning drive.
For the season, Becker has 14 catches for 275 yards and one touchdown. His 19.6 yards-per-catch average leads the team.
“I’m really proud of him to come up big the way he did (against Penn State),” Cignetti said. “He showed a lot.
“We knew he had skills. He was long. He's always done a great job on special teams. He made some good catches when he had a chance to play this season.
“But in that venue to make those plays -- he was the offensive player of the game. Really proud of him and now let's stay humble and hungry and build on it.”
As far as when Sarratt will return, Cignetti called it “day to day.” Sarratt has 45 catches for 609 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Receiver Omar Cooper Jr.’s jaw-dropping, game-winning touchdown catch at Penn State will rate as one of the most spectacular moments in program history, a list that includes quarterback Michael Penix Jr.’s diving, one-handed-touch-the-pylon two-point conversion run to also beat the Nittany Lions 36-35 in overtime at Memorial Stadium.
“It was a tremendous play,” Cignetti said of Cooper Jr.’s catch. “To be able to catch the ball, look down and then get your feet in position … it’s a great job by (director of athletic performance) Derek Owings developing his core to allow him to do that in the air and Coop working like he has the whole off-season and in the fall. He has developed quite a bit.”
Cooper leads IU with 52 catches for 701 yards and nine touchdowns. Cignetti wants more.
“He still has quite a bit of room for improvement because of his ability level, and he'd be the first to tell you that.
“That was a tremendous play. It was a great throw, too, because three-straight plays, (Penn State was) bringing the house, plus one. Now, we added a blocker to that final play, which meant they had to come a little wider and we had a little more time to get rid of (the ball, but quarterback Fernando Mendoza), still took the hit.
“Cooper can be as good as he wants to be.”
Redshirt freshman offensive lineman Adedamola Ajani got his first career start against Penn State. The 6-foot-4, 308-pounder played ahead of veteran Zen Michalski, who Cignetti said was banged up and got limited practice time.
Michalski did eventually play.
“Zen got dinged up in practice a little bit, so Ajani got more (practice) work,” Cignetti said. “And Ajani played well.”
Cignetti said starter Drew Evans, who has missed the last couple of weeks with an injury, is still a couple of weeks away from returning to action.