Media Monday: No. 9/8 Illinois
9/15/2025 1:00:00 PM | Football
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. –––– After the 73-0 win over Indiana State in Week 3, Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti addressed the media inside the Don Croftcheck Football Team Room on Monday (September 15) ahead of the 7:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday (September 20) at Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium.
Below is a full transcript of the press conference, while video of the media session can be found on the right sidebar at IUHoosiers.com.
Curt Cignetti | Head Coach
Opening Statement
CC: Generally pleased with the progress we made last week, take a few penalties out of there and there's always a few lighter things to clean up. Focused on prep for Illinois. Obviously, a good football team. Ought to be a great environment Saturday night. Looking forward to it.
On Lee Beebe Jr.'s injury status…
CC: Lee (Beebe Jr.) sustained a noncontact knee injury, and he'll be lost for the season.
On Khobie Martin stepping up with Beebe Jr. out…
CC: He's going to need to. I thought he ran well Saturday night. He's got talent and he'll get more reps and we're going to need him.
On Illinois Quarterback Luke Altmeyer and what he has seen out of him…
CC: First off, bigger picture, they're a really good football team. They've got a lot of good players, a lot of veteran players. Coach (Bret) Bielema does a great job, he and his staff in all three phases, offense, defense, special teams, veteran quarterback, have a lot of talent, very accurate, can extend plays. He's won a bunch of games for Illinois.
And that's the one thing about Illinois, is they know what it takes, the success they had last year, returning a good nucleus of guys and added some new ones. Very much kind of like us, good core return that understands what it takes. So ought to be a great match-up, but impressed with (Luke) Altmyer.
On starting conference play with a top-10 matchup…
CC: Look, last year, before the season started, we were playing favorite in three games. We were picked 17th out of 18 teams. So every Big Ten game that we went into, we were an underdog before the season started, maybe with the exception of Purdue. So last year's in the books. It's a new year. This is a good football team. We're a good football team.
On what he has seen from Illinois defensively on tape…
CC: They morphed a little bit schematically starting with the bowl game last year against South Carolina in some of their coverage packages. And they carried that on into this season. Multiple personnel groupings, defensively 4-2-5, 5-1-5, 5-2-4, 4-1-6 and others. They did a nice job of disguising coverage, nice disguises. They play a lot of guys. A lot of good players running to the ball. They have a lot of hats to the football. Put pressure on the quarterback, tight coverage. Really tied together well. Good players.
On Hank Beatty being a threat on the offense and in the punt game…
CC: He's their leading receiver, spreads the ball around, good player, good ball skills, movement skills. As far as a punt returner, hang time always helps, get the coverage time to get down there and do a great job with our coverage and tackle in space.
On how much progress the team has made in him coaching them harder…
CC: Yeah, I think the three games, that was the recipe. We had to bring this team along as far as we could. We were playing teams pretty heavily favored against. (Indiscernible) turned out to be a pretty decent thing, didn't it?
And so now we're ready for Big Ten football and I like the progress we've made. We have stacked days, meetings, practices and days in preparation to put ourselves in position for success Saturday night.
On Illinois' ability to protect the football and not giving up a turnover so far…
CC: They've done a nice job protecting the ball, turnovers, takeaways. The Duke game is a one-point game at half, and Duke turned it over five times and that was the name of the story right there. Four fumbles, so did a nice job stripping the ball. But we're 5-1 in the turnover ratio as well. BP had a fumble his first carry. Other than that, we've been pretty clean. We've been able to take the ball away ourselves.
So, line of scrimmage, turnover ratio, battle of explosives, being good in critical situations, teams need a win, that's always the formula. Never really has changed. So I think when you look at the two teams statistically, you'll see a lot of dominant numbers for the offense, defense and special teams.
On if he has any relationship and what he knows about Bret Bielema
CC: Never coached against him. Really never met him until I joined the conference. He was very welcoming. Always had a lot of respect for him as a coach. He was a head coach at a very young age and has really had some nice teams. And he's done a great job at Illinois and they're fundamental and you can see the coaching show up on tape.
On charting over 300 yards rushing in every game so far…
CC: Well, we're doing a good job up front and the tight end and receivers are doing a nice job blocking; backs are running hard. And Bob (Bostad) does a great job with the line. And we've been a little better than the people we've played, too.
On if the schedule or preparation changes with it being a primetime game…
CC: I'm always focused in on the game regardless. So, for me it doesn't really change much. It's a nationally televised game, NBC. It's going to be a great environment, and I know our players will be excited.
On how to build upon a successful 2024 and carry that into 2025…
CC: Last year is history. I don't compare the last year. I'm totally focused on the here and now and this team. So, I think we made good progress last week and now we've got to have a good week of prep so we can play our best Saturday night. And I don't look down the road at who we play, this and that, I just want to have a great Monday today.
On improvements in the secondary…
CC: I thought we made improvements in all areas defensively. We got lined up, played with urgency, got more hats to the ball. Coverage was tighter. So, it was good.
On Fernando Mendoza improving even after the remarkable week he had…
CC: Every game is different. Everybody schematically is different, every opponent, and the personnel you're going to play against. He's made progress. Really pleased with the way he finished the game and the progress he had made since the opener. This is a new week. But I have total confidence he'll step up and respond.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
Below is a full transcript of the press conference, while video of the media session can be found on the right sidebar at IUHoosiers.com.
Curt Cignetti | Head Coach
Opening Statement
CC: Generally pleased with the progress we made last week, take a few penalties out of there and there's always a few lighter things to clean up. Focused on prep for Illinois. Obviously, a good football team. Ought to be a great environment Saturday night. Looking forward to it.
On Lee Beebe Jr.'s injury status…
CC: Lee (Beebe Jr.) sustained a noncontact knee injury, and he'll be lost for the season.
On Khobie Martin stepping up with Beebe Jr. out…
CC: He's going to need to. I thought he ran well Saturday night. He's got talent and he'll get more reps and we're going to need him.
On Illinois Quarterback Luke Altmeyer and what he has seen out of him…
CC: First off, bigger picture, they're a really good football team. They've got a lot of good players, a lot of veteran players. Coach (Bret) Bielema does a great job, he and his staff in all three phases, offense, defense, special teams, veteran quarterback, have a lot of talent, very accurate, can extend plays. He's won a bunch of games for Illinois.
And that's the one thing about Illinois, is they know what it takes, the success they had last year, returning a good nucleus of guys and added some new ones. Very much kind of like us, good core return that understands what it takes. So ought to be a great match-up, but impressed with (Luke) Altmyer.
On starting conference play with a top-10 matchup…
CC: Look, last year, before the season started, we were playing favorite in three games. We were picked 17th out of 18 teams. So every Big Ten game that we went into, we were an underdog before the season started, maybe with the exception of Purdue. So last year's in the books. It's a new year. This is a good football team. We're a good football team.
On what he has seen from Illinois defensively on tape…
CC: They morphed a little bit schematically starting with the bowl game last year against South Carolina in some of their coverage packages. And they carried that on into this season. Multiple personnel groupings, defensively 4-2-5, 5-1-5, 5-2-4, 4-1-6 and others. They did a nice job of disguising coverage, nice disguises. They play a lot of guys. A lot of good players running to the ball. They have a lot of hats to the football. Put pressure on the quarterback, tight coverage. Really tied together well. Good players.
On Hank Beatty being a threat on the offense and in the punt game…
CC: He's their leading receiver, spreads the ball around, good player, good ball skills, movement skills. As far as a punt returner, hang time always helps, get the coverage time to get down there and do a great job with our coverage and tackle in space.
On how much progress the team has made in him coaching them harder…
CC: Yeah, I think the three games, that was the recipe. We had to bring this team along as far as we could. We were playing teams pretty heavily favored against. (Indiscernible) turned out to be a pretty decent thing, didn't it?
And so now we're ready for Big Ten football and I like the progress we've made. We have stacked days, meetings, practices and days in preparation to put ourselves in position for success Saturday night.
On Illinois' ability to protect the football and not giving up a turnover so far…
CC: They've done a nice job protecting the ball, turnovers, takeaways. The Duke game is a one-point game at half, and Duke turned it over five times and that was the name of the story right there. Four fumbles, so did a nice job stripping the ball. But we're 5-1 in the turnover ratio as well. BP had a fumble his first carry. Other than that, we've been pretty clean. We've been able to take the ball away ourselves.
So, line of scrimmage, turnover ratio, battle of explosives, being good in critical situations, teams need a win, that's always the formula. Never really has changed. So I think when you look at the two teams statistically, you'll see a lot of dominant numbers for the offense, defense and special teams.
On if he has any relationship and what he knows about Bret Bielema
CC: Never coached against him. Really never met him until I joined the conference. He was very welcoming. Always had a lot of respect for him as a coach. He was a head coach at a very young age and has really had some nice teams. And he's done a great job at Illinois and they're fundamental and you can see the coaching show up on tape.
On charting over 300 yards rushing in every game so far…
CC: Well, we're doing a good job up front and the tight end and receivers are doing a nice job blocking; backs are running hard. And Bob (Bostad) does a great job with the line. And we've been a little better than the people we've played, too.
On if the schedule or preparation changes with it being a primetime game…
CC: I'm always focused in on the game regardless. So, for me it doesn't really change much. It's a nationally televised game, NBC. It's going to be a great environment, and I know our players will be excited.
On how to build upon a successful 2024 and carry that into 2025…
CC: Last year is history. I don't compare the last year. I'm totally focused on the here and now and this team. So, I think we made good progress last week and now we've got to have a good week of prep so we can play our best Saturday night. And I don't look down the road at who we play, this and that, I just want to have a great Monday today.
On improvements in the secondary…
CC: I thought we made improvements in all areas defensively. We got lined up, played with urgency, got more hats to the ball. Coverage was tighter. So, it was good.
On Fernando Mendoza improving even after the remarkable week he had…
CC: Every game is different. Everybody schematically is different, every opponent, and the personnel you're going to play against. He's made progress. Really pleased with the way he finished the game and the progress he had made since the opener. This is a new week. But I have total confidence he'll step up and respond.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
#NeverDaunted
Players Mentioned
FB: Week 4 (Illinois) - Curt Cignetti Press Conference
Monday, September 15
FB: Omar Cooper - ISU Postgame Press Conference (09/12/25))
Friday, September 12
FB: Fernando Mendoza - ISU Postgame Press Conference (09/12/25)
Friday, September 12
FB: Week 3 (Indiana State) - Curt Cignetti Postgame Press Conference
Friday, September 12