The No. 1 seed Indiana football team advanced to the national championship game Friday night by defeating No. 5 seed Oregon State 56-22 in the Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
Here’s everything head coach Curt Cignetti had to say in his postgame press conference, courtesy of ASAPSports.
advertise
Signetti: It was a great win against a very good football team. Really proud of our players and staff. It all started with the sixth pick from Pounds, and then they played a beautiful offense together. Knocked us off balance a little bit, but we responded by scoring and then forcing some turnovers on defense. We took advantage of the offense and that was the story of the first half.
It helped to score early in the second half and keep us apart. Our defense was weak and we had a couple of guys injured in some spots, which was concerning, but it was a great win.
ask. Cignetti, your ability tonight to continue to find players to make plays and Tuioti, the way he plays and how many players are you getting now to contribute?
Signetti: I think when you have good people who buy in and prepare themselves in the right way, we’re going to have a lot of those guys. They’re high-character, smart, ball-playing guys, and Coach Haynes puts them in positions where they can make plays and get the offense into conflict and offense.
advertise
On the other side of the ball, on special teams, we were very consistent in all three phases.
ask. Coaches, what are you trying to negate with their team and execute with your team? What are you trying to negate with their team and execute with your team?
Signetti: For me, every game is the same. You have the line of scrimmage. You have to win the line of scrimmage. You have to be able to run the ball, stop the run, impact the quarterback, protect the quarterback. Then there is the turnover rate. The turnover rate in this game is huge.
We are No. 1 in the country at this. Turnovers in the first half led to a 21-point, explosive performance, and then you have to perform in critical situations, third and fourth down with two minutes to go. Special teams always need to win, or at least draw.
advertise
ask. Coach Seager, I wanted to ask you about the defense, obviously your guys did a great job. How much does Coach Haynes’ ability to create schematic chaos impact your ability to defend?
Signetti: I think that’s a big part. It’s hard to give a percentage because the players are making plays, but they’re well-coached and they have a lot of reps stemming from spring ball and fall camp.
But our philosophy was to attack and we moved a lot of pieces in the front seven. We’re consistently in the top 5 in the country in run defense, TFL and sacks, and that’s the philosophy of our defense.
ask. Curt, can you comment on Fernando’s performance?
Signetti: I think he’s incredible. He’s great. I also thought our receivers made some nice contested catches. I thought Sarat was on fire. Charlie Becker creates some big plays. EJ and Cooper are also involved. When he’s not around, Fernando uses his legs. I mean, he’s at the top of his game and there’s a big difference in what he does in this football game.
advertise
ask. Now that you’re done with those two playoff runs, how do you maintain your playoff run over the next 10 days?
Signetti: We will work out the best possible preparation schedule to try to stay as normal as possible. No matter what we decide to do, we will have an extra day. We got where we are today because we made the right preparations. That’s why we are able to rise to the challenge and put it into practice.
We still have ten days. Everyone has a day off tomorrow. And then on Sunday, I also tend to have players who have Sunday off. We will be making several official visits to campus and will return on Monday.
Q: Coach, do you believe these gentlemen will come on board and be a part of this movement. So what can each of you say about trusting each other to achieve the goal of a national championship.
Signetti: Well, I think there’s no doubt that these are two key cogs in the machine [Fernando Mendoza and D’Angelo Ponds]. But we have great people upstairs and downstairs. The assistant coaches do a great job helping these players prepare for game day. There are a lot of experienced players downstairs who have strong personalities, are very smart, and know how to hit the ball.
advertise
The real bottom line in this industry is you have to get everyone thinking the same way. If you can get everyone thinking the same way and focusing on the same thing, you can accomplish anything.
ask. Coach, Indiana’s preseason odds to win the national championship were 100-to-1. What should they do in this game against Miami?
Curt Signetti: You all have a job to do, and a lot of times you draw on other people’s stories or beliefs, and now with the Internet, there’s pressure to get that story out there. A lot of them really don’t understand our team. They have no idea what we are made of and what we possess. I see.
After last year, there were a lot of people who suspected we were just a fluke. The team did a lot of great things and started it all. That team didn’t trail until its ninth game of the year, when they scored 47 straight points in the first quarter as they outscored Michigan State 10-0.
advertise
I think a lot of the negativity in the media spurred these guys to come back from this team and we added some real key pieces, the main ones sitting just to my left, but there were others as well. Great leader, great player.
We’ve just had success, we’ve won some big games on the road, and when the game rolls around in the fourth quarter, having the quarterback play his best football helps a lot. So here we are.
ask. Coach, would you mind talking about the decision to give DeAngelo the ball on offense? And then Fernando, what does it feel like to pass the ball to a player that you normally play against?
Signetti: I can definitely take credit for that. I still sit in offensive meetings, but I no longer call games, which has been about nine years.
advertise
It was a game that matched their third-and-2 defense. We thought we could use it in media as well. DeAngelo is probably the best stopper, he’s quick, and thought this would be a nice little change.
