Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The bye is over, full-time work is back and Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti hopes a more focused Hoosier squad is back in play, starting Saturday when the No. 6/5 Hoosiers (8-1 overall, 5-1 in the Big Ten) host No. 15/14 USC (7-2, 4-2) at Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium.
“I think everybody will be refreshed and ready to go,” he said during Monday’s weekly media gathering.
The Hoosiers are second in the Big Ten standings behind UCLA (6-0) and a game ahead of USC, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Oregon, and Illinois.
IU allows a Big Ten-best 12.4 points and scores at a 32.4-point clip. However, in the last month, it has averaged 17.8 points and allowed 14.5.
Cignetti wants more. He doesn’t want a repeat of the mistake-filled Minnesota performance that required a second straight overtime effort to deliver a victory.
“We have to play well,” he said. “We can’t do a lot of the things we did against Minnesota. It looked like we had played 19 games in a row instead of nine. It was a very uncharacteristic game for us in many ways, but a really good defensive performance.”
Cignetti and his staff used the bye week to lighten the load for players and coaches while evaluating USC and overall college football trends.
“We're onto the next opponent,” he said. “We're in the office maybe an hour later and not staying until 10:00 at night. Maybe going home at 7:00, 7:30 at night. Couple hours to catch up on some sleep and getting to know the opponent.
“Then also taking a look at what else is going on in football and seeing maybe what you can apply to help yourself.”
As far as the Hoosiers, Cignetti added, “I would say this in general: we’re always looking to improve schematically and you're always going to see something different every week, the average fan may not notice it.
“A lot of our problems have been general execution. We were averaging 42 points after the first four, five games, and then the next four I think it was, we were averaging 18 points. For the most part it's been missed opportunities. Last week (against Minnesota) was combination of six offensive penalties on the offensive line.
“It’s stuff we’ve got to clean up. Before you win it, you can't lose it. We’ve got to make sure we do that.”
Like IU, USC is coming off a bye week. It followed its 24-7 loss at Wisconsin with a 30-18 home win over Ohio State. It earlier lost to Oregon, 41-27.
The Trojans average 32.4 points and allow 24.2.
“We’ll have a big challenge with USC,” Cignetti said. “They’re a really good team. They’re coming off an impressive home win over Ohio State. They have a lot of good players. They are very talented. “
Jayden Maiava is one of 10 quarterbacks in contention for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. He leads the Big Ten in touchdown passes (20) and passing yards (2,524). He’s also rushed for two TDs and thrown just five interceptions while completing 66.9 percent of his passes.
“He has a very quick release,” Cignetti said. “He’s very accurate. You can tell he's really smart, heady. He can have his eyes over here and get them over there and get rid of the ball real quick and accurate.
“You’ll probably see him playing for a few years at least after his college days are done. He’s very impressive at that position.”
Running back King Miller has rushed for 681 yards and five touchdowns. Waymond Jordan has 335 yards and three TDs.
The Trojans are solid in special teams with punt returner/receiver Trent Mosley (a 44-yard return against Ohio State), kicker Ryon Sayeri (a 54-yard field goal against the Buckeyes) and punter Lachlan Carrigan.
Mosley, a true freshman, has four 100-yard receiving games this season. He’s caught 32 passes for 512 yards and six touchdowns. Kayden Dixon-Wyatt also has 32 catches, good for 443 yards and four TDs. Seven Trojans have caught at least 10 passes
Defensively, Luke Wafle leads the team with 8.5 tackles for loss, including three sacks. Deven Bryant has a team-high 55 tackles. USC has 44.0 tackles for loss and 19.0 sacks.
USC is coached by Lincoln Riley. He is 42-20 in five seasons at USC. He was 55-10 in five previous seasons at Oklahoma.
“Their quarterback is sensational,” Cignetti said. “The offensive design is always good. They’ playing good defense, rolling a lot of guys up front, have a lot of disruptive players. They have good team speed, good special teams.
“Coach Riley has done a tremendous job throughout his entire career.”
For those seeking clarity on whether Josh Hoover or Grant Wilson will start at quarterback, wait until Saturday. Cignetti provided no update.
“We’ll see how the week plays and see who we trot out there.”
A banged-up Hoover struggled in the first half against Minnesota (8-for-19, 119 yards, one touchdown, one interception) and after taking another hit late in the half, Wilson replaced him for the final 30 minutes and led IU to the victory, including a 33-yard pass to receiver Charlie Becker to set up Paddy McAteer’s overtime-forcing 60-yard field goal and then the game winning 25-yard touchdown pass to Becker in overtime.
For the season, Hoover completes 60.2 percent of his passes for 1,860 yards, 19 touchdowns, and two interceptions.
Wilson completes 59.1 percent of his passes for 230 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions.
IU’s formidable defensive line is a big reason why IU has totaled 76 tackles for loss and 32 sacks. Defensive end Tobi Osunsanmi leads with 15.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks.
The Hoosiers’ defensive-line depth allows coaches to constantly rotate players during the game, keeping them fresh for potentially crucial fourth-quarter situations. That was highlighted by Osunsanmi’s game-ending overtime sack against Minnesota.
“It helps a lot in getting guys playing hard every play,” Cignetti said. “Play fast, physical, relentless. We are deep on the defensive line and that's where it all begins, wreaking havoc up front. If you want to have a really good team and you’ve got a really good D-line you got a shot.
“That's where it all starts, on defense up front.”
Becker has handled punt return duties for the last seven games. Mostly, that’s meant fair catching punts. He’s returned two for 25 yards.
“Yeah, a lot of fair catches,” Cignetti said. “Would like to get more out of that unit.
“Charlie was foreign to the position. He’s done a good job. I can see the progress every week. The big thing there is to catch the ball first because nothing can turn a game around faster than putting one on the ground.”
He referred to Myles Price, who handled punt returns two years ago. He now plays for the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings.
“Myles was obviously a really good returner who’s now doing it in the league,” Cignetti said.
IU special times were dominant in Cignetti’s first two Hoosier seasons but have struggled at times this year in multiple areas.
“Our special teams have really been a winning edge for us, especially last season. We were sloppy to say the least against Minnesota. We’ve had some down moments throughout the year.
“We have a field goal kicker (Nico Radicic) who never missed and we’ve had a few misses. Some of that is … a lot of people are involved in that, the snap, the hold, et cetera, but at the end of the day, it’s on the kicker.
“We have to be better there if we want to be the best team we can be.”