BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti held his weekly press conference Monday at Memorial Stadium.

No. 8 Indiana’s attention turns to Michigan. The Wolverines, the defending national champions, have slipped in 2024 as they are three games behind Indiana in the Big Ten race.

Here’s everything Curt Cignetti had to say to the media on Monday:

Opening statement…

Cignetti: Good road win at Michigan State. I like the way we responded when we were down 10-0 in the first quarter. The guys kept their composure, continued to play, without frustration and made some defensive turnovers in the second quarter, which were essential.

Scored 47 straight points and really dominated the line of scrimmage on defense, seven sacks, 15 tackles for loss. Made some big plays in the punt return game. Blocked the punt. Forced a muff that also led to a touchdown. Had some big returns and also got a late game deflection on a punt.

Offensively, he played at the right time. Six of seven touchdowns in the red zone. No bags. And I thought Curtis played really well, and it was good to get a lot of guys involved.

All eyes are therefore on Michigan. Really tough opponent. He obviously won the national championship last season. There wasn’t really a match between the two teams last year. And a lot of good players, very solid defense, very good special teams.

They run the ball well. Good tight end, running backs. The offensive line is working well. Installed on a quarterback. He can spin it. And the receivers are more than efficient. We will therefore have to do a good week of preparation and do our best to try our luck.

How curious Cignetti is about the College Football Playoff rankings…

Cignetti: I’ll see the leaderboard, but the only thing that really matters is getting the result when you play, and to do that you need to keep it to the basics, cut out the noise and clutter, and stay focused on what’s important. will help you play your best on Saturday to give you the best chance of getting the result.

So today we need to do a big meeting, a big walkthrough and stack days, moments, hours, to put ourselves in a position to do it and not get distracted by all the other things.

Each week presents its own new set of circumstances and so there’s a lot going on this week. I am aware of it. But getting caught in the trap and losing focus would be the kiss of death.

On how Cignetti experienced the good and bad times of Michigan’s season…

Cignetti: I look at them and I see very good defense, very good special teams. And offensively, they didn’t score any points. They’re not in the 40s and 50s. But they can pass the ball to 11, 12 and 13 people.

They have weapons. They have a good back. They have good players, and they’re a good football team that comes here with a lot of tradition, a lot of history, a lot of pride, and that’s part of why it’s on national television at 3:30 p.m. .

To meet this challenge, we must do a great week of preparation.

On Michigan tight end Colston Loveland and how you defend teams that have a good tight end…

Cignetti: Well, you have to be aware of him, of course, on the field and on screens, various things, because when you have size and speed like that, you can create a personnel mismatch. So he’s an excellent footballer. They have a lot of very good footballers.

On Michigan’s blitzes and how Indiana’s offense accounts for them…

Cignetti: Well, you know, we’re still pretty early in our preparation, but, you know, at this point in the season, you’ve seen most of what you’re going to see. They showcase a lot of looks and do a great job. He does an excellent job. He is an excellent coordinator. He coordinated in the NFL for a long time. And when you put the tape on, you see a defense that is very multiple and trying to create problems for the offenses and good players who are flying, playing hard. It all starts from the start with them. They are good on the inside and good on the periphery. And it’s an aggressive defense.

We’ll have a good plan to be balanced on offense and protect the quarterback and open guys in the passing game and hopefully good in critical situations, and then we’ll have to go out and execute it.

Why Cignetti stands where he is on the sidelines during games…

Cignetti: I like to stay aware of what’s going on in the game, see what’s going on in terms of defensive coverage and also game situations, always thinking a play or two ahead. If it’s third down, our defense is on the field, on the phone with Grant, “Grant, what are you thinking, are we going to give this back or go block?” I think we should go for the ride back here, that sort of thing.

I’m on the offensive. Then I turn around with the defense, just to hear what’s going on. So I try to manage the game, be on top and stay away too, so to speak. But I’ve learned over the years that game management is an essential part of being successful, whether it’s getting into fourth- or two-minute situations or calling timeouts. Two minutes before halftime, should we push him on the field or not.

To do the best job possible, that’s where I feel the best, it’s a little bit out of the way, let the coaches coach. Every once in a while, if I have something to say, I’ll bring up the offense when we’re down 10-0 and say, look, there’s still a lot of game left here, one play at a time, agreement, no one is obliged to do it. do something special. And that’s how I operate.

On tackle Trey Wedig and defensive tackle Tyrique Tucker…

Cignetti: Trey Wedig, an older guy, played a lot of football in his career, originally from Wisconsin. Coach Bostad coached him at Wisconsin and knew him. He was really solid for us at right tackle.

This whole group has been really solid and they give you a great day’s work every day in training and Saturday in games. He doesn’t talk much, but really in this group, apart from Katic and Carter Smith, the others are pretty quiet. Playing good football for us.

Tyrique Tucker is also part of this rotation. We alternate four guys inside. He made some great plays as he developed as a football player. He gets better every year. I’m really proud of him. I saw where he came from, where he is today.

He was instrumental in Ponds’ pick 6 two weeks ago when he deflected the pass or hit the quarterback’s arm as he threw it.

So it’s an interior position where we can rotate guys, keep him fresh, and he’s played really well.

On Indiana’s Turnover Margin Recovery…

Cignetti: We normally have a fairly high turnover rate. We started the season pretty well. Then we had a little period where we fell a little behind. But they were critical in this passing game between takeaways on defense and blocked punts, which I consider a turnover and muffed punts led to at least 16 points and in the game from Nebraska, it was 28 points.

We do a good job protecting the ball on offense, and that’s where it all starts. The quarterbacks are making good decisions in the passing game and the ball carriers, the receivers are putting it away well, and on defense we are invading the football.

And our pass coverage has been tight. The first interception, Aiden Fisher was really good in undercover, deflected the pass and Ferrell made the interception, and on the second interception, Ferrell made a really nice break on the ball and a nice catch for the interception.

When you steal, good things happen on defense. And we fly and a lot of good things happen. TFL, bags and takeaways.

On the exhaustion of opponents as the game progresses…

Cignetti: This is what we preach. Never be satisfied. They responded. They were able to compartmentalize and have an advantage, a good competitive advantage before the game; and whatever the score is, you know, the standard is the standard. We do a really good job from the first play to the last.

On Indiana’s defensive front and its quality of play…

Cignetti: Well, defensively, that’s always where it all starts, it’s up front. To be able to win the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, you have to win the line of scrimmage.

Our defense has always been about creating havoc and disruption up front, TFLs and sacks. That hasn’t changed. We play a little more zone coverage now than before. And the linebackers, we put a lot on those guys, and those are guys that run and hit, and are also pretty involved in blitzes. We put a lot of pressure on five players in this last match.

So we win championships by having a good defense. And we’ve certainly played good defense here the last few weeks and been pretty consistent throughout the season.