NOTEBOOK: Plenty To Build on for Dominating Hoosiers
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana is unbeaten and improving. It’s dominating in almost every way as it heads into Friday night’s non-conference finale against Indiana State (2-0).
Still, head coach Curt Cignetti wants more from his No. 22/19 Hoosiers (2-0), especially with the Sept. 20 Big Ten opener against No. 9/9 Illinois (2-0) looming.
Offensively, Cignetti said during Monday’s press conference, “you don’t want to leave plays out on the field. When you have opportunities, you want to cash in on them because as we move forward, the windows will get tighter.”
IU scored 56 points against Kennesaw State and went 7-for-7 on scoring touchdowns in the red zone and “we still had six or seven missed opportunities that we need to convert,” Cignetti said.
Defensively, he added, the Hoosiers are giving up too many “chunk plays.” Against Kennesaw State, they allowed nine plays of 15 or more yards, although they only gave up nine points. They also had 14.0 tackles for loss.
“We missed tackles at linebacker more,” Cignetti said. “We had some misfits. The safeties were out of position quite a few times. We’ve got to get better at safety. They’re capable. They’re not playing bad, but they’re capable of playing better.
“We’ve got to get lined up quicker. Communication has got to be cleaner. There needs to be a little bit more attention to detail in our preparation in the back end.
“So, still things to build on, got to get better.”
Indiana State has opened with a pair of impressive performances, beating McKendree 41-24 and Eastern Illinois 38-14.
The Sycamores are coached by Curt Mallory, the son of former IU head coach Bill Mallory, the winningest coach in program history with 69 victories.
Indiana State has used two quarterbacks. Elijah Owens completes 75.7 percent of his passes for 317 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. He’s also rushed for 112 yards. Keegan Patterson completes 64.7 percent of his passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns.
Running back Plez Lawrence leads the ground game with 143 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Lawrence also has caught five passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Receiver Rashad Rochelle has nine catches for 105 yards and a TD.
“They're doing a nice job on offense scoring 40 points a game,” Cignetti said. “They're fairly balanced. They play a couple running backs. They're doing a nice job throwing the ball. Defensively, they're doing a nice job.
“I'm sure they're going to come in excited to play. I want to see us play a clean game.”
As far as playing a Friday night game, Cignetti said the Hoosiers will keep the same practice routine Monday through Wednesday.
“Thursday might be a little shorter, and then we’ll have a meeting with players late Friday morning, then get them back to the hotel and play the game.”
No coach likes watching players let up less than Cignetti, who wants maximum effort every play, no matter the score. Even with a 56-9 lead in the closing minutes against Kennesaw State, Cignetti pushed for more.
“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.”
The quarterbacking Mendoza brothers, starter Fernando and backup Alberto both played Saturday, becoming the first brothers to throw a touchdown pass in the same game for the same team since Arkansas’s Brandon and Austin Allen did it in 2015 against UT Martin.
Fernando was 18-for-25 for 245 yards and four touchdowns. Late in the fourth quarter, he scrambled down the sidelines and took a big hit from Kennesaw State defensive back Alexander Ford, who was called for unnecessary roughness. Cignetti instantly took him out and put in his brother, who went 3-for-3 for 35 yards and a TD.
“I got taken out because I had a little bit of a risky run in the fourth quarter,” Fernando said. “For a split second, I didn’t want to be taken out. Then, I realized my brother was going in. I’m happy for him. We got the win.”
As far as playing in the same game, Fernando said, “It’s amazing to be here with him. We push each other to get better in order to get the Hoosiers as many wins as possible.
“To see him out there operate efficiently, with confidence, no hesitation, was great. It shows he’s going to be able to take the next step, a big step, and be a great quarterback one day.”
Fernando Mendoza said he needs to be better for Friday night’s game.
“I have to focus on the plays I was in and get better so I can have a better outing against Indiana State and moving forward.”
With starting punter Mitch McCarthy sidelined with “a little bit of an issue,” Quinn Warren has come in and averaged 42.3 yards on three punts. McCarthy had a 47-yard effort in the season opener against Old Dominion before limping to the sidelines.
“We've always had a lot of confidence in Quinn,” Cignetti said. “The first punt that we downed inside the 5 was a little bit of low kick and we got a good bounce. But he's really capable of booming the ball. He did a nice job.”
The 6-foot-6, 223-pound Warren, a sophomore from Indianapolis Brebeuf High School, saw limited last season, all on kickoffs. In high school, he was an all-state soccer player, helping Brebeuf to a pair of state titles. He also played basketball as well as football.
Cignetti said McCarthy was “day to day.”
Tight end Riley Nowakowski’s impact goes well beyond the three catches for 29 yards he has this season, including one catch for 14 yards on Saturday. He also had a 1-yard rushing touchdown against Kennesaw State.
Cignetti said Nowakowski was the offensive player of the game.
“He’s an unsung hero, high effort, high character. He gives you everything he's got play in and play out. He’s really dependable. He played well Saturday.
“The (blocking) effort on (Omar Cooper Jr.’s 75-yard touchdown run) by him and others downfield was really nice to see. He’s a good player.”
IU’s dominating performance against Kennesaw State came despite a poor Friday walk-through. Cignetti said walk-throughs generally last 25 minutes when the team goes through 40 plays on offense and defense. They are not physically demanding, but “You’ve got to be sharp mentally,” Cignetti said.
“It’s not a time to be mentally relaxed. You’re getting more reps on the game plan, the right splits, alignments, checks, balance, those kind of things.”
Linebacker Aiden Fisher said sometimes players take walk-throughs for granted.
“It’s not physically taxing, but it’s one of the most important days of the week mentally to see every look you’ll get. It’s where you make sure you’re doing every little thing right for your job and scheme.
“Coach Cig let us know (the walk-through approach wasn’t good). It was sloppy. We fixed it.”
Receiver Elijah Sarratt caught nine passes for 97 yards and three touchdowns against Kennesaw State after catching just three passes for 44 yards and no scores in the opening win over Old Dominion.
“It was just executing,” he said. “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.”
Cignetti has never had a losing record, and a big reason is the winning culture he’s built. Even in this transfer portal era, when major roster turnover every year is the norm, the standard doesn’t change.
“There are a lot of new guys on this team,” he said. “There were a lot of new guys last year, but a lot of them came with me (from James Madison), and I knew them. They understood the culture, the standard, the expectation.
“A lot of the new guys we have now aren't like center Pat Coogan, who came from Notre Dame, a team that (reached the national title game) and has a championship culture. Some of these guys have come from .500 programs.
“Like I said to our coaches, you've got to really coach this team every day right now and reinforce the standards and the expectations in everything you do. You can’t assume they know because they don’t.”