BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana coach Curt Cignetti was sort of bouncing off the wall in the press conference room at Memorial Stadium following the Hoosiers’ 20-15 win over Michigan.

We could hardly blame him.

It was only Indiana’s 11th victory in series history. Unlike previous victories, this game was uncertain until the final minutes and the Hoosiers managed to hold off the physical Wolverines.

Here’s everything Cignetti said to the media after Michigan’s win:

Opening statement…

Cignetti: I won. I won. Defense… bend, don’t break in the second half. I wouldn’t let them get in the end zone. The punt return (by Ke’Shawn Williams) was a huge play there, and then we stop them and we get the first down that we need.

So it’s a great victory. Not a lot of style points there. There won’t be many people banging the drum saying Indiana should be rated higher in the BCS and all that good stuff, but the Indiana Hoosiers are 10-0 and have a bye week, so coach Cignetti has a day off tomorrow.

I thought we had a chance to pull away in the first half and we just didn’t take full advantage of our opportunities in the red zone. We had an offensive call from PI and a few other things happened, close calls. I thought one time they fumbled, they were holding tight on defense on the 2, and it looked like we were about to run into it and I thought their quarterback caught our guy.

But we still had a multi-point lead at halftime, but we came out on the first play of the second half, threw the interception, but the defense held them back.

For a while there, we struggled to gain three yards on offense. Lots of bags. We weren’t doing anything. But the defense bends and doesn’t break, and we found a way to do that.

That says a lot about the resilience of this team, its competitive nature. In the end, they all count as one, whether it’s 72-6 or 3-2. They count as one. You know what? We’ll get a win against the Michigan Wolverines, and the Indiana Hoosiers will enjoy being undefeated for 24 hours.

On Ke’Shawn Williams and his punt return…

Cignetti: Absolutely. No doubt about it. There’s a veteran, he caught 35, 40 a year at Wake Forest. He made plays for us. He and Price alternate. Made a nice catch early in the game on our sideline and Price was knocked out of the game, and it was a really tough punt to judge and catch because the nose was spiraling down to the left. It was dying.

He was on full throttle, man. Catching that punt, and he did, was a huge effort and was really inspiring for everyone in the stadium. About the first big thing that happened offensively, counting the punt return as an offensive play. It gave us a real chance.

On Michigan’s defense in the second half…

Cignetti: Well the interception was a bad way to start, then we had some protection issues, then we had some opportunities, plays that we usually make, maybe a one-on-one ball or a throw behind the shoulder we simulated the Bubble and Sarratt on the sidelines just can’t connect. We have had several. And then the bags. We couldn’t do anything in the running game. It just wasn’t happening.

Did Cignetti feel nervous following the offensive…

Cignetti: No, I thought we did a really good job. The offense is used to clicking and scoring a lot of points. I thought everyone had good determination. We worked as a team and found a different way to win.

On Indiana’s defensive line…

Cignetti: Yes, I thought our defense played a great game, held them to 69 rushing yards and 137 passing yards. So 206 yards total. He kept them out of the end zone multiple times while deep in the red zone inside the tight 10, and yes, this guy was a bit on the run, and thus a great effort. I flew around. I invaded the ball.

By beating Michigan and reaching double-digit wins for the program…

Cignetti: Okay, here’s how I’m going to answer this question honestly. I’m happy we won. I don’t like the way we played. I’m not satisfied with the way we played, especially offensively in the second half. So we have to watch the film carefully on Monday and see what happens.

I thought the special teams were pretty solid overall. There were a few kickoff returns that game on their bench, but it looked like we might be getting caught. But I think our defense did a number of good things, but they were on the field too long. But it’s a victory. None of us will give it back.

Although I’m happy that we won and are continuing this momentum, I’m not happy with the way we played.

On the defense’s refusal to accept adversity…

Cignetti: Yes, a great competitive character, a lot of guys who have played very good football during their career. My teams have always played very good defense and Brian Haines does a great job. You have guys like Kamara and Carpenter and CJ West and Lanell Carr and Fisher and Walker and Ponds and now Ferrell and so on, Jamier Johnson, and you have guys coming into the rotation. They are very proud of the way we play. Our defensive coaches do a great job training and preparing them.

But we’re going to put this tape on and there’s going to be a lot of things that Coach Haines and his team won’t like on this tape either, but they definitely built the wall between the 1 and the goal line. on several occasions tonight, when Michigan was in trouble.

On in-game adversity and how the team handled it…

Cignetti: Gutty, find a way to win. I’m really happy that we played this game at home because our fans played a big role tonight. I thought it was a great crowd. That punt return was also a key.

But championship teams find a way to win football games, and you don’t always get style points. This is probably the first one we didn’t get style points for. Let’s be real, we weren’t even down until last week, then we were down 10-0 and scored 47 goals in a row. Very nice victory.

Our numbers are exploding. You look at PFF, we’re first in the country in all three areas, ODK, but we obviously struggled but we found a way to get there. It’s a team. It’s a team and everyone’s goal is the same.

I can’t say enough about these guys. I don’t throw a lot of bouquets out there. We all know it. But these guys accomplished quite a bit, so I can think about it tonight and then we’ll go back to work on Monday and have a good week off.

On Nicolas Radicic and his reliability…

Cignetti: Yes, he did a great job on the extra points. Like you said, we didn’t make a lot of field goals because we scored so many touchdowns there, but did he score two or three tonight? Two? And they were both huge.

He played well in training. We didn’t kick 51 or 52 yards with him. I thought about it, but the offense thought they had a play that could work and had a chance, but we just didn’t get it done.

He is calm, cool and precise and has a good character, which is ideal for a kicker. We’ve been fortunate to have a lot of good kickers over the last five or six years who have been pretty good. We have a certain way of handling it, I manage it, but ultimately they have to put it between the amounts.

On the leadership of guys like CJ West and Aiden Fisher…

Cignetti: Well you need to have good leadership in your football team to have a successful season, and if you are a good leader it means you can persevere through tough times and overcome obstacles and adversity and you know also how to manage success. , and you lead by example. Others follow.

These guys had big games tonight, and there are probably a number of guys who had big games tonight. But that’s why we’re here, because we have a lot of guys like that.

CJ West was a guy who was a key addition to this football team after spring ball. We were very thin on the defensive line. It was a big win for us. It’s great to see him playing at such a high level right now.

As for whether facing adversity helps when Indiana plays Ohio State in two weeks…

Cignetti: Well, yeah, I think this team understands that no matter what, we can find a way to make it happen. But I think if you polled them, they would all rather perform at a much higher level and score more points.