Postgame Quotes: Kennesaw State
9/6/2025 5:10:00 PM | Football
Curt Cignetti | Indiana Head Coach
Opening Statement
CC: Good day. I think we made the improvement we needed to make, but it's far from perfect. We'll see areas of improvement tomorrow when we watch the tape. But we took a step forward with the step we needed to take.
[I'm] Probably most pleased with the way we dominated the second half. We got off to a fast start in the game and sort of stumbled, bumbled around in the second quarter a little bit. So, it was a 15-point game at halftime, but we outscored them in the second half 31-3, and I think we scored 31 straight at the end.
It was good to empty the bench and see our twos make some plays, particularly in the pass game, like Charlie Becker and some other guys, Alberto (Mendoza).
So good day in terms of making the progress - also, when we built the big lead, I like the way our guys kept playing one play at a time like it was nothing-nothing. I didn't see guys laughing on the sideline, kind of a relief syndrome. That's what we ask them to do. The time to be satisfied is in the locker room.
I was a little bit of a tyrant on the sideline in the fourth quarter, but my job is to make the team the best it can be, so that's the way it is.
On if third quarter showed team's potential…
CC: Yeah, it looked like that today, and that was great to see because last time we really waxed somebody was Purdue. That was a long time ago. So it was good to get back kind of to that.
(Omar) Cooper's reverse was a real big play in the game. [It was a] really good run and a lot of good downfield blocking.
You're right, our defense started to penetrate, make plays in their backfield a little bit. So we took it over.
I needed to see that from this team because there's a lot of new guys on this team. There were a lot of new guys last year, but a lot of them came with me, and I knew them. They understood the culture, the standard, the expectation. A lot of the guys that we have that are new aren't like Pat Coogan, who came from Notre Dame, a team that went far into the playoffs, championship culture. Some of these guys have come from .500 programs.
Like I said to our coaches this morning, you've got to really coach this team every day right now and reinforce the standards and the expectations in everything you do. Like the walk-through yesterday, I wasn't real pleased with. But it was all new guys, and you just can't assume they know because they don't. They don't know. They don't know.
Pleased we took a step forward, and get ready for the next one.
On why he was not pleased with the walk-through…
CC: I kept them in longer because we need to play football. We got some games coming up where we've got to be able to play that many plays. We haven't executed over a long period of time as well as we need to, so we need reps. We need game reps.
The walk-through was more of a - it's not a physically taxing day. It's only a 25-minute walk-through, get about 40 plays on offense and defense, but they've got to be sharp mentally. It's not a time to kind of be relaxed mentally either. So, you're getting more reps on the game plan, the right splits, alignments, checks, balance, et cetera.
But it's not the first walk-through that we haven't been pleased with, you know what I'm saying?
On Elijah Sarratt's three-touchdown performance…
CC: Yeah, I was glad to see him get going a little bit. Last year in camp, he really didn't have a lot of catches, but he got them during the season. Not quite as many as he did at JMU. Same thing in camp, he didn't have a ton of catches, not in the first game either. So, I was glad to see him bust out and those two kind of hook up a little bit.
All these new quarterbacks, they build on their successes early in the season. You win, they play well, they build on it. Same thing happened last year with Kurtis. He didn't have the greatest opener. He sure played good the second game even though the opponent - and obviously lights out the third.
Mendoza to Sarratt, Mendoza to Cooper and other guys are going to be an important hook-up.
On confidence in "triple-threat" run game…
CC: All those guys are capable, and it starts up front with the tight ends and then the receivers too. Those guys run hard and break tackles, and it just helps when you can be balanced on offense and run it and throw it.
The thing about early in the year, I think you learn as a staff every game a little bit, like, oh, we need to have a little bit more of this kind of stuff down in this field zone or things like that. I mean, you've got to have enough diversionary stuff, so to speak. But today it was (Lee Beebe, Jr.), (Roman) Hemby still ran well, Kaelon (Black), Cooper had 79 yards on the reverse.
[We] Got to keep them healthy. We've got a little more depth at some positions on this team than others.
On relief seeing team's mindset late in the game with sizeable lead…
CC: I'm never relieved. I'm going to be relieved when I go up in my office and crack a beer. But on the field, I'm never relieved because you've got to keep the pedal to the metal. You're trying to really teach habits, right? And how you do something is how you do everything, and you're either improving or you're getting worse. So if you're playing to the circumstances of the game, you're getting worse, right?
You've got to be able to handle success and failure and then play the next play at your very best. Those are habits, and you're trying to create those habits. At the end of the game, I was pleased. I was pleased, yes.But our kids, I think, we have enough guys here that have been here that understand what we want and that we're not happy with the way they played last week, and they responded really well in the fourth quarter.
On how the team improved from last week…
CC: That had to happen, and we answered the bell. Like I said, we were No. 1 in the country in scoring touchdowns in the red area last year, and last week it was what it was. It was good to see that ball get in the end zone in the red area, yeah.
On allowing several "chunk plays" to Kennesaw State offense…
CC: When people go real fast like they do, or then they check to put themselves in the best spot, and they take those big wide splits and use the field, there's going to be some throwing lanes, you know what I'm saying? We'll take a look at the tape.
I know they came out in the second half and challenged us down the field a little bit. But I thought we played really well against ODU aside from two plays, and I thought we played - gave up 9 points today.
Indiana Student-Athletes
Fernando Mendoza / QB / Jr.
On performance evaluation...
FM: I'm very pleased with the effort that our offensive line gave, our running backs, our receivers and our tight ends. I think they all played fantastic. However, although the score was amazing, we put up a ton of yards, there (are) still some opportunities that, myself, that I left on the table. [We] Could have had one to Lebron Bond there deep, late and a couple of others that were just this close. But, just this close to what we need to take that standard to the next level in order to keep this momentum rolling, in order to have these big games against Big Ten opponents and further.
On progressing into Big Ten play...
FM: I feel like I'm getting closer. I think the first game, to be quite honest, especially against ODU, (I was) a little too excited, wanted to have a perfect debut and show Hoosier fans what I had. However, I just had to go back to the fundamentals, and Coach Cignetti always preaches one play at a time, 0-0. So, I think whenever anybody does that process in our offense, you see the success that we have.
On senior wide receiver Elijah Sarratt's performance...
FM: Fantastic. He's Waffle House. I didn't target him enough the first game, and, evidently, I think I targeted him enough today. So, I still got to spread the ball around, we still have great playmakers around him, like E.J. Williams, [Omar Cooper, Jr.]. I can go on and on, (Jonathan) Brady, Lebron Bond, Charlie Becker, everybody that's always out there, spreading the defense because we give so much stress that they're able to give Elijah (Sarratt) those one-on-one matchups. And when he has those one-on-one matchups, he's, like they call him, Waffle House.
Kellan Wyatt / DL / Sr.
Opening statement…
KW: I thought we played pretty (well). We still have a lot of things to clean up (and) still continue to get better. For the most part, I think we played alright. I think the last two drives in the first half kind of hurt us. It only led to three points [...] which is pretty good after letting up so much.
Coach Cignetti when leading…
KW: He's telling us to stay focused. Last game, we didn't finish the fourth quarter. This game, we made an emphasis to finish this fourth. I think we did. I think we finished the whole second half.
Playing opposite Mikail Kamara…
KW: It's pretty fun. When you have someone like that on the opposite side, it kind of makes things easier. You learn a lot from him. You somehow make plays off of it when you have another player as good as him. I think as a unit, the defensive line, we had a really good day.
Elijah Sarratt / WR/ Sr.
Key to your performance…
ES: [It was] Really just executing. I feel like, of course, I left some stuff out there. I could have had a better game than what I had. [It was] Executing on stuff I didn't do well last week, and then making an emphasis throughout practice this week going into the game this week.
On Fernando Mendoza's performance…
ES: I feel like that game experience, getting more [comfortable …] That was our first real time against different guys. He's just going to get better after each week, so that's good to see.
On Mendoza's transition to a new team…
ES: Throughout camp, you're seeing the same defense every single time, so you probably get a little used to it. It's different when you get out here and everything's flying around. He's doing [well] as everyone sees.
Aiden Fisher/ LB / Sr.
On differences between week one and week two…
We had a lot of details last week that we really need to clean up, a lot of missed opportunities. And [it was] kind of the same thing in this game. We had a lot of stuff we needed to clean up; tackling, myself especially. [We] just took advantage of more opportunities when we had them, and I think that led to the result we got.
On bringing new guys in…
I think when we bring guys in, we know that they can fit our system, and that they buy in quickly and they want to fit in our system. Week one was an odd offense that wasn't very conventional. They were a little odd when it comes to out sets and empty sets, but, at the end of the day, we just played a lot better defensively.
On where he is this year compared to last year…
I feel a lot better than I did last year. I worked on my body a lot, but mentally I have been slowing down a lot. [I] just have to be able to hone in on the little things and not get caught up in the big view and just be where my feet are and where I am at. [There are] a lot of things I need to clean up still - there were some mistackles out there that I am not happy with - so fixing that and then honing in on those little things.
Omar Cooper/ WR / Jr.
On offensive keys…
[It's] Just practice and consistency. Last week we struggled a little bit, so this week we tried to be a little more urgent at practice and make sure we are taking advantage of everything and coming out and preparing for the next game that we have. And today showed that we are taking a step, but we have more work to do.
On 75-yard rushing touchdown…
It was a reverse. We had some really good blocks, the (offensive) lineman did well, Elijah Sarratt secured the defensive end, and then both our tight ends, Holden Staes and Riley (Nowakowski), were both blocking downfield, so I really appreciate them, and they help get the job done.
On offense's potential…
I feel like, like I said earlier, we are getting better each and every day. [It's] Just making sure that we are practicing and always on the same page, getting the relationship with the quarterback better so that we can continue (to grow) each and every game and day at practice. So, I feel like we have a lot we can do, but we just have to continue to work.
Jerry Mack | Kennesaw State Head Coach
Opening Statement
JM: [It was] just not a good day for us, [...] for the most part, offense, defense, special teams. [I] Saw a lot of different areas we have got to continue to improve on. Teams like this, they hold you accountable for your mistakes. When you do things that are not quite the right way, or you're not as quite sound as some of the things that you do, they're gonna hold you accountable for it cause they got great football coaches with great players. So, some of the things that we learned from, but also some good stuff that we saw as well. We saw some things on the offensive and defensive side of the ball that I think going forward we're gonna continue to be able to build on as we get into our league play.
On early quarterback change…
JM: Yeah, we went into the game knowing that Amari (Odom) was going to play. We always had preparations to give Dexter [Williams II] probably two series to kind of see how it's going and then get Amari in in that third series. And [...] I think that's what we kinda did [...] and Amari started having some success. I think the first time he got in, for the most part he took us down, and we (were) able to kick a field goal. [He] drove the team down the field, made a couple nice throws down the field. So, the biggest thing was he was having success, and we're not going to change quarterbacks when one is having success. No different, if it was Dexter who started off having a lot of success, we would've moved the ball, and we wouldn't have (taken) him out the game either. We'll go back to the drawing board. Those guys continue to practice and go through their preparations, and we'll see how it unfolds next week.
On playing two Power Four schools to start the year and what he's learned…
JM: I learned that we got a group of guys that's going to continue to strain, continue to fight [...] and when you get a group of guys like that, the sky's really the limit. We got some things that we have to clean up on just scheme wise and personnel wise. But what you see is a team that, when they're clicking on all cylinders, offense and defense, they are a good football team. Now we gotta be more consistent in how we approach that. I do think going forward, I think that is gonna be the message and the keys to try to be a little more consistent as we go. If we put a couple more drives together on offense, same thing on defense, get them off the field a couple more times, then I think we come off feeling a little better about today.
Opening Statement
CC: Good day. I think we made the improvement we needed to make, but it's far from perfect. We'll see areas of improvement tomorrow when we watch the tape. But we took a step forward with the step we needed to take.
[I'm] Probably most pleased with the way we dominated the second half. We got off to a fast start in the game and sort of stumbled, bumbled around in the second quarter a little bit. So, it was a 15-point game at halftime, but we outscored them in the second half 31-3, and I think we scored 31 straight at the end.
It was good to empty the bench and see our twos make some plays, particularly in the pass game, like Charlie Becker and some other guys, Alberto (Mendoza).
So good day in terms of making the progress - also, when we built the big lead, I like the way our guys kept playing one play at a time like it was nothing-nothing. I didn't see guys laughing on the sideline, kind of a relief syndrome. That's what we ask them to do. The time to be satisfied is in the locker room.
I was a little bit of a tyrant on the sideline in the fourth quarter, but my job is to make the team the best it can be, so that's the way it is.
On if third quarter showed team's potential…
CC: Yeah, it looked like that today, and that was great to see because last time we really waxed somebody was Purdue. That was a long time ago. So it was good to get back kind of to that.
(Omar) Cooper's reverse was a real big play in the game. [It was a] really good run and a lot of good downfield blocking.
You're right, our defense started to penetrate, make plays in their backfield a little bit. So we took it over.
I needed to see that from this team because there's a lot of new guys on this team. There were a lot of new guys last year, but a lot of them came with me, and I knew them. They understood the culture, the standard, the expectation. A lot of the guys that we have that are new aren't like Pat Coogan, who came from Notre Dame, a team that went far into the playoffs, championship culture. Some of these guys have come from .500 programs.
Like I said to our coaches this morning, you've got to really coach this team every day right now and reinforce the standards and the expectations in everything you do. Like the walk-through yesterday, I wasn't real pleased with. But it was all new guys, and you just can't assume they know because they don't. They don't know. They don't know.
Pleased we took a step forward, and get ready for the next one.
On why he was not pleased with the walk-through…
CC: I kept them in longer because we need to play football. We got some games coming up where we've got to be able to play that many plays. We haven't executed over a long period of time as well as we need to, so we need reps. We need game reps.
The walk-through was more of a - it's not a physically taxing day. It's only a 25-minute walk-through, get about 40 plays on offense and defense, but they've got to be sharp mentally. It's not a time to kind of be relaxed mentally either. So, you're getting more reps on the game plan, the right splits, alignments, checks, balance, et cetera.
But it's not the first walk-through that we haven't been pleased with, you know what I'm saying?
On Elijah Sarratt's three-touchdown performance…
CC: Yeah, I was glad to see him get going a little bit. Last year in camp, he really didn't have a lot of catches, but he got them during the season. Not quite as many as he did at JMU. Same thing in camp, he didn't have a ton of catches, not in the first game either. So, I was glad to see him bust out and those two kind of hook up a little bit.
All these new quarterbacks, they build on their successes early in the season. You win, they play well, they build on it. Same thing happened last year with Kurtis. He didn't have the greatest opener. He sure played good the second game even though the opponent - and obviously lights out the third.
Mendoza to Sarratt, Mendoza to Cooper and other guys are going to be an important hook-up.
On confidence in "triple-threat" run game…
CC: All those guys are capable, and it starts up front with the tight ends and then the receivers too. Those guys run hard and break tackles, and it just helps when you can be balanced on offense and run it and throw it.
The thing about early in the year, I think you learn as a staff every game a little bit, like, oh, we need to have a little bit more of this kind of stuff down in this field zone or things like that. I mean, you've got to have enough diversionary stuff, so to speak. But today it was (Lee Beebe, Jr.), (Roman) Hemby still ran well, Kaelon (Black), Cooper had 79 yards on the reverse.
[We] Got to keep them healthy. We've got a little more depth at some positions on this team than others.
On relief seeing team's mindset late in the game with sizeable lead…
CC: I'm never relieved. I'm going to be relieved when I go up in my office and crack a beer. But on the field, I'm never relieved because you've got to keep the pedal to the metal. You're trying to really teach habits, right? And how you do something is how you do everything, and you're either improving or you're getting worse. So if you're playing to the circumstances of the game, you're getting worse, right?
You've got to be able to handle success and failure and then play the next play at your very best. Those are habits, and you're trying to create those habits. At the end of the game, I was pleased. I was pleased, yes.But our kids, I think, we have enough guys here that have been here that understand what we want and that we're not happy with the way they played last week, and they responded really well in the fourth quarter.
On how the team improved from last week…
CC: That had to happen, and we answered the bell. Like I said, we were No. 1 in the country in scoring touchdowns in the red area last year, and last week it was what it was. It was good to see that ball get in the end zone in the red area, yeah.
On allowing several "chunk plays" to Kennesaw State offense…
CC: When people go real fast like they do, or then they check to put themselves in the best spot, and they take those big wide splits and use the field, there's going to be some throwing lanes, you know what I'm saying? We'll take a look at the tape.
I know they came out in the second half and challenged us down the field a little bit. But I thought we played really well against ODU aside from two plays, and I thought we played - gave up 9 points today.
Indiana Student-Athletes
Fernando Mendoza / QB / Jr.
On performance evaluation...
FM: I'm very pleased with the effort that our offensive line gave, our running backs, our receivers and our tight ends. I think they all played fantastic. However, although the score was amazing, we put up a ton of yards, there (are) still some opportunities that, myself, that I left on the table. [We] Could have had one to Lebron Bond there deep, late and a couple of others that were just this close. But, just this close to what we need to take that standard to the next level in order to keep this momentum rolling, in order to have these big games against Big Ten opponents and further.
On progressing into Big Ten play...
FM: I feel like I'm getting closer. I think the first game, to be quite honest, especially against ODU, (I was) a little too excited, wanted to have a perfect debut and show Hoosier fans what I had. However, I just had to go back to the fundamentals, and Coach Cignetti always preaches one play at a time, 0-0. So, I think whenever anybody does that process in our offense, you see the success that we have.
On senior wide receiver Elijah Sarratt's performance...
FM: Fantastic. He's Waffle House. I didn't target him enough the first game, and, evidently, I think I targeted him enough today. So, I still got to spread the ball around, we still have great playmakers around him, like E.J. Williams, [Omar Cooper, Jr.]. I can go on and on, (Jonathan) Brady, Lebron Bond, Charlie Becker, everybody that's always out there, spreading the defense because we give so much stress that they're able to give Elijah (Sarratt) those one-on-one matchups. And when he has those one-on-one matchups, he's, like they call him, Waffle House.
Kellan Wyatt / DL / Sr.
Opening statement…
KW: I thought we played pretty (well). We still have a lot of things to clean up (and) still continue to get better. For the most part, I think we played alright. I think the last two drives in the first half kind of hurt us. It only led to three points [...] which is pretty good after letting up so much.
Coach Cignetti when leading…
KW: He's telling us to stay focused. Last game, we didn't finish the fourth quarter. This game, we made an emphasis to finish this fourth. I think we did. I think we finished the whole second half.
Playing opposite Mikail Kamara…
KW: It's pretty fun. When you have someone like that on the opposite side, it kind of makes things easier. You learn a lot from him. You somehow make plays off of it when you have another player as good as him. I think as a unit, the defensive line, we had a really good day.
Elijah Sarratt / WR/ Sr.
Key to your performance…
ES: [It was] Really just executing. I feel like, of course, I left some stuff out there. I could have had a better game than what I had. [It was] Executing on stuff I didn't do well last week, and then making an emphasis throughout practice this week going into the game this week.
On Fernando Mendoza's performance…
ES: I feel like that game experience, getting more [comfortable …] That was our first real time against different guys. He's just going to get better after each week, so that's good to see.
On Mendoza's transition to a new team…
ES: Throughout camp, you're seeing the same defense every single time, so you probably get a little used to it. It's different when you get out here and everything's flying around. He's doing [well] as everyone sees.
Aiden Fisher/ LB / Sr.
On differences between week one and week two…
We had a lot of details last week that we really need to clean up, a lot of missed opportunities. And [it was] kind of the same thing in this game. We had a lot of stuff we needed to clean up; tackling, myself especially. [We] just took advantage of more opportunities when we had them, and I think that led to the result we got.
On bringing new guys in…
I think when we bring guys in, we know that they can fit our system, and that they buy in quickly and they want to fit in our system. Week one was an odd offense that wasn't very conventional. They were a little odd when it comes to out sets and empty sets, but, at the end of the day, we just played a lot better defensively.
On where he is this year compared to last year…
I feel a lot better than I did last year. I worked on my body a lot, but mentally I have been slowing down a lot. [I] just have to be able to hone in on the little things and not get caught up in the big view and just be where my feet are and where I am at. [There are] a lot of things I need to clean up still - there were some mistackles out there that I am not happy with - so fixing that and then honing in on those little things.
Omar Cooper/ WR / Jr.
On offensive keys…
[It's] Just practice and consistency. Last week we struggled a little bit, so this week we tried to be a little more urgent at practice and make sure we are taking advantage of everything and coming out and preparing for the next game that we have. And today showed that we are taking a step, but we have more work to do.
On 75-yard rushing touchdown…
It was a reverse. We had some really good blocks, the (offensive) lineman did well, Elijah Sarratt secured the defensive end, and then both our tight ends, Holden Staes and Riley (Nowakowski), were both blocking downfield, so I really appreciate them, and they help get the job done.
On offense's potential…
I feel like, like I said earlier, we are getting better each and every day. [It's] Just making sure that we are practicing and always on the same page, getting the relationship with the quarterback better so that we can continue (to grow) each and every game and day at practice. So, I feel like we have a lot we can do, but we just have to continue to work.
Jerry Mack | Kennesaw State Head Coach
Opening Statement
JM: [It was] just not a good day for us, [...] for the most part, offense, defense, special teams. [I] Saw a lot of different areas we have got to continue to improve on. Teams like this, they hold you accountable for your mistakes. When you do things that are not quite the right way, or you're not as quite sound as some of the things that you do, they're gonna hold you accountable for it cause they got great football coaches with great players. So, some of the things that we learned from, but also some good stuff that we saw as well. We saw some things on the offensive and defensive side of the ball that I think going forward we're gonna continue to be able to build on as we get into our league play.
On early quarterback change…
JM: Yeah, we went into the game knowing that Amari (Odom) was going to play. We always had preparations to give Dexter [Williams II] probably two series to kind of see how it's going and then get Amari in in that third series. And [...] I think that's what we kinda did [...] and Amari started having some success. I think the first time he got in, for the most part he took us down, and we (were) able to kick a field goal. [He] drove the team down the field, made a couple nice throws down the field. So, the biggest thing was he was having success, and we're not going to change quarterbacks when one is having success. No different, if it was Dexter who started off having a lot of success, we would've moved the ball, and we wouldn't have (taken) him out the game either. We'll go back to the drawing board. Those guys continue to practice and go through their preparations, and we'll see how it unfolds next week.
On playing two Power Four schools to start the year and what he's learned…
JM: I learned that we got a group of guys that's going to continue to strain, continue to fight [...] and when you get a group of guys like that, the sky's really the limit. We got some things that we have to clean up on just scheme wise and personnel wise. But what you see is a team that, when they're clicking on all cylinders, offense and defense, they are a good football team. Now we gotta be more consistent in how we approach that. I do think going forward, I think that is gonna be the message and the keys to try to be a little more consistent as we go. If we put a couple more drives together on offense, same thing on defense, get them off the field a couple more times, then I think we come off feeling a little better about today.
Players Mentioned
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