Postgame Quotes: Old Dominion

Curt Cignetti | Indiana Head Coach
Opening Statement
CC: [It's] Always good to get a win. Wins are hard to get. "1-0." But I guarantee you, everybody in this organization realizes we didn't play as well as we wanted to. That's just a flat out fact. We had a missed assignment on the first play, the long touchdown run. And then we collected ourselves on defense shortly thereafter and pretty much dominated them, didn't give them anything.

Then we had another missed assignment on a similar play on the weak side again at the end of the game which led to another long touchdown run. Aside from that, they didn't get a whole lot done.

I thought we had them in position near the end of the second quarter where we could have stuck a fork in them and really jumped on them, and we couldn't capitalize offensively.

We had a number of missed opportunities offensively – first-and-two on the 2, couldn't get the ball in the end zone. Get down there the next time and fumbled the ball. Got open for a touchdown, make a nice throw, and he drops the ball. Hit the crossbar on a field goal. Overthrow a guy for a touchdown in the second half.

And, so, from that standpoint, you know, we have to get better, got to get better.

Obviously, Brady's punt return was a big play because there was a point in time there [where] they had the lead, and they were moving the ball. And, so, that was a huge play. And before you knew it, we were up 17-7. Didn't feel like we were.

And we've got the ball first in the second half, we needed a touchdown and we did. We got it. Up 24-7. Then, you thought the rout could be on, but it wasn't. There will be a lot to learn in this tape, and we've got to get better.

On team's sense of urgency…
CC: I thought the preparation was good. I thought we had their attention. I think everybody was probably in shock on the first touchdown run. And I thought the kids didn't panic and rebounded from that.

We just have to execute a little better. When you have opportunities to score touchdowns, you've got to score them. That's what we did really well last year. When we had the opportunities, we made the plays.

On defensive performance…
CC: I wouldn't overcomplicate it. I think you just picked it apart. In fact, they were running clock in the second quarter trying to shorten the game there the last seven and a half minutes of the second quarter. So, they didn't get much done except for two missed assignments which led to big plays. And the quarterback's fast.

On how performance measures against program's standards…
CC: I think this is a great learning tool for us. And they scored that first touchdown. And to our team's credit, we rallied back.

[…] There (were) just a lot of things like that that the teams – my teams in the past haven't done. When we had open guys for touchdowns, we made the catch or made the throw. And, so, we'll see it on tape.

On missed opportunities…
CC: I would start with the plan. Maybe it wasn't a very good plan. We do it on Thursdays, and it was the low red (zone) and goal line. And I was really concerned about it leading up to the kickoff.
And there wasn't a lot of goal line on tape because people were scoring explosive touchdowns. We certainly had those opportunities to do that and didn't – ended up on the goal line.

So, I'd start with a plan. And I'm sure I'll put the tape on, [and] the execution isn't very good. I hear comments on the headset about this guy was supposed to do this, and that guy was supposed to do that.

On redshirt junior quarterback Fernando Mendoza's performance…
CC: I thought he made some good plays. He left some plays out there. He got off rhythm a couple of times. And that's the thing we've been trying to clean up with him is speed up his process, and once the ball is snapped, keep him on rhythm.

On senior wide receiver Jonathan Brady and return duties…
CC: I think we have some good candidates there. And I think for the past two to three weeks we've been leaning Brady stronger every day because he catches the ball well, [and] he makes good decisions.

The punt returner is different than the kickoff returner [… There are] different decisions whether to field the punt or not, be a good communicator on the Peter call, when to play the bounce, when not to play the bounce and how to play the 10. And he's an intelligent football player with good ball skills.

On team's mistakes…
CC: I'm not pleased with the way we played. I can't be any more clear than that.

On rushing, offensive line evaluations…
CC: Seemed like we pushed them around, and we were opening up some holes. And unless they brought (indiscernible) splits -- but sure seemed that way, yeah.

On Indiana secondary coming up with three interceptions…
CC: I think I've got to see those on tape again. But we've got guys back here that have good ball skills, and a couple of those were deflected balls, too, I think. And they were big plays in the game. So, Ponds, Sharpe, Ferrell – Ferrell is a really good player. And we got Boykin from NC State, and Louis Moore – we've got a lot of experience.

Every week's a new challenge. That was a different offense because of the way they spread you out and the ability of the quarterback to run the ball, but those plays were game-changers, there's no doubt.

Indiana Student-Athletes
Fernando Mendoza / QB / Jr.
On first game as a Hoosier...
FH: [We] Never take a win for granted. It's fantastic, I am extremely honored and blessed to be Indiana's quarterback. [I] Had the opportunity to go out there and help lead us to victory, I would say on my own performance, not up to my standard, I need to be on a better rhythm, better timing and better accuracy, especially on balls downfield. I think personally, myself, I definitely left some things out there. However, I thought our O-line played great, thought our running backs played great. I need to give our tight ends and receivers more opportunities in passing.

On mentality knowing he is going into a play where he might take a hit…
FH: I'm going to take a hit. Hits have never been, I'm never scared of hits. I'm sure you guys have seen here, I've probably got to run the ball less. I'll get the ball to receivers in quicker timing, and I think what Coach Cignetti's talking about. If I'm playing better timing, I'm going to throw the receivers out of their breaks, rather than waiting for them to get out of their breaks, kind of double checking, and then it being covered. [That's] not because it's the receivers fault, [it's] just because they're college (defensive backs) [...] I would say that we probably need to scramble less to get our receivers the ball, especially going into a play. I have no problem sacrificing my body for my teammates.

On what the sideline's reaction to Jonathan Brady's return touchdown…
FH: It was fantastic. In the previous drive, we got down to the one. We unfortunately got stopped, and it was 7-0 at this point. We were like, "All right, come on, guys, we have to finish the next drive, the next opportunity we get, we're going to score." Then, Brady takes that punt back, and it was fantastic. That's always a great break. Special teams is, people don't really view it as that, but it's such a large part of the game. And I have such an advantage, especially with such a disciplined and amazing special teams coaching staff that we have here. It shows that we're able to go over those margins and make those big special teams plays when needed. I'm really happy for Brady, and everybody else that was on the punt return team, blocking for him. It was a really great break for us.

Roman Hemby / RB / R-Sr.
On coming up short in the red zone…
RH: [There were] Just some execution errors on everybody. We want to be better as an offense, and the first game is always a little tricky. But we'll get back to the drawing board, watch some film and get it cleaned up.

On energy after the punt-return touchdown…
RH: It was definitely perfect timing. It was everything that we needed at that moment. I feel like it was a great way for us to steal momentum. We got a win, and that's the main thing for us.

On first game experience at IU…
RH: It was awesome, just being a part of this culture, this team, this environment. It was definitely a breath of fresh air for me. I was telling somebody earlier, I felt so grateful I was shedding tears earlier this morning, just taking it all in because not everybody gets second chances. And I feel like I got one, so I'm just so grateful, and I am still kind of in awe. I'll get on film and watch the game, and I'll be even more excited. I'm probably mad at myself for a few things, but I'm just excited man. I'm so excited.

Jonathan Brady / WR / Sr.
On mental calculus of deciding to grab the ball after a bounce on return touchdown …
JB: I think not losing a field position, I didn't want to pin the offense inside the ten. I think I was at the eight or nine, so I just thought we have to get what we can get. Once I grabbed it and I just ran, I just knew that it was an opportunity. There was a lot of green grass, so I just took it.

On feeling of crossing goal line and hearing the crowd roar…
JB: Yeah, I blacked out. The energy was amazing. My hand started hurting after all my teammates were giving me daps and pushing me and stuff. But, it was a blessing and exciting to be part of it, just to get the juice going. I feel like the crowd, you could tell they were ready to erupt. So, just to be a part of that, the punt-return team did their job, and it was very exciting.

On celebration after return touchdown…
JB: [It was] Really just praise and energy. You can see that I felt like once that happened, the team's energy lifted up, and we just start going from there. Really, it's just a bunch of love from the guys. I love those guys. For me, I just got here, so them welcoming me in and showing me love, like I said, I love those guys, so I was very appreciative of that. When I got to the sideline, it was a whole bunch of hugs and daps, headbutts, and my hand was ringing, but it was a cool to be a part of it. They are my brothers.

Amare Ferrell / S / Jr.
On if the team envisioned this game going the way it did…
AF: No, not really. We knew facing this quarterback was going to be a challenge. We knew he could run, and that was our biggest focus. But, like I said, we just have to clean up our mistakes when we watch film tomorrow, and everything will be good.

On frustration of conceding two long rushing touchdowns…
AF: Being a great defense, you always want to make sure you do everything right. Leading up to this game, our goal was to stop the run, and we didn't do a great job of that, especially with their quarterback. We just have to go in, be more disciplined, and [make sure] everyone does their job.

On similarities to FIU game last season…
AF: There were definitely some similarities. It was a win, but it wasn't the win we wanted it to be. There are definitely a lot of things to clean up, definitely a lot of things for us to get better at. That goes for everybody: coaches, players, everybody.

Ricky Rahne | Old Dominion Head Coach
Opening Statement
RR: [I] Thought we made too many mistakes in order to be a good football team, and that's what Indiana is. They're a well coached team, they got some talented players, and we can't make that many mistakes on offense, defense and special teams, and think [we're] gonna come and win that game.

On moral defeat to No. 20 team in the country…
RR: It's more frustrating than anything, just because we had an opportunity to [...] Let's be honest, we had an opportunity to win the game, but our mistakes took that away from us, and as a head coach that's my responsibility to make sure we don't make those.

On how team looked today…
RR: We have a talented team, a team that cares about each other, and a team that prepares well. I looked into a lot of guys eyes in there, and saw it hurt. But they still believe, and if I could speed up time and go to practice right now, they would do it. That's kind of the thing I probably enjoy most about this team. I'm looking forward to seeing how we respond on Sunday and throughout the week of practice. Obviously [we have] a new game against a very good North Carolina Central team.

Old Dominion Student-Athletes
Colton Joseph / QB / R-So.
On what he saw on two touchdown rushes…
CJ: Well that was just game plan stuff. We had our keys right there to read. My read took me to my decision to pull it. As soon as I passed the first line of defense I saw open grass. I ran as fast as I could out there to try to make a touchdown.

On playing from behind…
CJ: At any point in the game, you're always in the game no matter what the score is. We just tried to go 1-0. We just need to execute better on first and third down. The penalties killed us. Turnovers killed us. We just got to get better at execution.

On competing against highly-rated Indiana defense…
CJ: Yeah, I know. Props to them, they were a great defense. We put up a great battle, but we didn't execute.

Mario Easterly / S / R-Jr.
On defense's performance…
ME: We definitely did our part. We stood strong with our backs against the wall. [We did] A lot of preparation at practice this week, all camp actually, in redzone, and it showed today.

On physicality of game…
ME: I don't think we got worn down at all. We're prepared to play a hundred snaps. We're not worried about that. When our number is called, we got to go out there and do what we got to do. At that point, you just got to get a stop. Too many mistakes we had that we're going to get cleaned up this week.

On team's mistakes…
ME: [There are] little things, little things that we can get better at. We beat ourselves. I think we played really good ball at times. [There were] too many little mistakes that messed us up.

Players Mentioned

Jonathan Brady

Amare Ferrell

Roman Hemby

Fernando Mendoza

Louis Moore

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