NOTEBOOK: IU Sticks to Process as Big Ten Play Begins
By Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Big Ten play has arrived and Curt Cignetti means business.
Yes, Indiana’s head coach always means business, which is what you’d expect from a guy who has won 30 of his 32 games, including a national championship, as Hoosier head coach, but with Northwestern (2-0) coming to Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium on Friday night, urgency intensifies.
Three blowout non-conference victories have prepared the No. 5/4 Hoosiers (3-0) to defend their Big Ten title.
“We developed in fall camp, and then in the last three games we developed,” Cignetti said during Monday’s weekly press conference. “I saw a lot of positive things.
“Our standards have improved, our consistency has improved, our togetherness, better understanding of what's expected. Some of the returners are now really back into the flow of things where you’ve got to have the edge every day.”
As for Northwestern, Cignetti said, “We're playing a really good football team. That's my total focus. I think there is too much focus on we are this or we are that and, oh, compared to last year. Well, last year at this time where were we really, okay?
“I'm not thinking about down the road. I know who the next game is after this one and so on and so forth, but everything is going into this one because this is a good team. We’ve got to play well. We’ve got to have great balance on offense, between the run and the pass. We’ve got to protect the football.
“This is a journey and we're process oriented. That's the best way to do it to become the best you can be. That's the total focus.”
Northwestern has opened with a pair of home victories, a 34-18 win over South Dakota State, then a bye, and then Saturday night’s 41-7 victory over previously undefeated Colorado.
The Wildcats forced four turnovers against Colorado, converting them into 17 points.
Quarterback Aidan Chiles, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound Michigan State transfer, was 17-for-22 for 241 yards and three touchdowns, and also ran for two scores. For the season, he’s completed 31-of-46 passes for 514 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. He’s also rushed for 20 yards and three TDs.
“They’re doing a really nice job with him,” Cignetti said. “He'll drop back, play-action, out-of-pocket, multiple formations, personnel groupings, spread the ball in the pass game.
“He hasn’t thrown an interception all season and can extend plays, tuck it, and run. I think he broke one for about 60 yards on us last year. He's a really good player. A really quality player.”
The running game is led by Gavin Sawchuk (117 yards), Joseph Himon II (115 yards, one touchdown), and Caleb Komolafe (95 and one).
Griffin Wilde is the top receiver with eight catches for 189 yards, a 23.6 yards per catch average.
Northwestern averages 37.5 points behind offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, whose previous coaching stops include being the head coach at Oregon and UCLA, and the offensive coordinator at Ohio State and for the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders.
The Wildcats allow just 12.5 points a game.
David Braun is in his fourth season as Northwestern head coach. He earned Big Ten coach-of-the-year honors in his first season, when the Wildcats went 8-5 and won the Las Vegas Bowl. His overall record is 21-19.
“We’re going to have to be really on point this week,” Cignetti said. “Northwestern is a nice team. Coach Braun has done a great job with that program. He's a smart, detailed, thorough guy. It shows up on tape.
“They are impressive in all three phases. They do the things you’ve got to do to win games. They're plus four in the turnover ratio. They're averaging 38 points a game. They're running for over 200 yards with 465 yards of total offense; they’re holding teams to one out of eight touchdowns in the red area, which is really good.
“They've given up six points in the first half and the quarterback (Chiles) has really developed. They've done a great job with him as a passer and designed a really nice offense around him.
“They're an experienced team. They've got 19 or 20 fifth- and fourth- year starters, so, you know, they got a lot of good players. We're going to have to play well and have great week of preparation.”
IU’s success comes in part because it doesn’t beat itself. It has just one turnover -- a fumble during a punt return. It recovered its three other fumbles. It has forced six turnovers -- three interceptions, three recovered fumbles.
Still, even the potential of a fumble bothers Cignetti, which is why sure-handed receiver Charlie Becker returned punts against Western Kentucky.
“I get asked, why do you have Charlie Becker on punt return? Well, drop a punt and change the momentum of a Big Ten game. That's why.”
Josh Hoover embraces the accountability of the quarterback position. At every level, quarterbacks bear the biggest playing burden. Hoover has thrived in his first Hoosier season after transferring from TCU, but more is required and he knows it.
After Saturday’s 38-0 victory over Western Kentucky, he met with his receivers about improving his play, then lamented about his incompletions on a pair of potential big-play passes to receiver Nick Marsh.
“There was the fourth down to Nick where I threw it behind him, and the vertical I threw off of his fingertip,” Hoover said. “I have to do a better job of that, and I will.
“We always talk about it's back to work. I know I can make those throws. I think the coaches know that, as well. That’s why the standard is so high for me. I know I can make those plays. I have made those plays over the last couple of years. I have to get back to work and figure out what I did wrong and what I can improve.”
Cignetti said there is too much scrutiny on Hoover. After watching the Western Kentucky game tape, he said Hoover missed just one throw. Other misses were caused by a running back doing a poor job of picking up a blitz and poorly run routes.
“We had to hash that out as a staff to make sure we were on the same page,” Cignetti said.
“You know, I’m glad he’s our quarterback.”
As for those wanting to compare Hoover to Fernando Mendoza, last year’s starting quarterback who went on to win the Heisman Trophy and earn the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, their numbers after three games are comparable.
After three blowout victories, Hoover has completed 51-of-71 passes (72.5 percent) for 649 yards, 10 touchdowns, and zero interceptions. He’s also run eight times for 20 yards and no TDs.
In nonconference wins over Old Dominion, Kennesaw State and Indiana State last season, Mendoza was 55-for-76 (72.4 percent) for 708 yards, nine touchdowns, and no interceptions.
On Friday night, Hoover and the Hoosiers will face a Northwestern team that’s forced five turnovers in two games while allowing 226.5 passing yards a game.
“We will make the adjustment and move forward,” Hoover says.
Officially, IU committed two penalties for 15 yards against Western Kentucky, the last one coming by delay of game in the closing seconds.
In Cignetti’s view, it was just one penalty (a 10-yard holding call). He said he had called a timeout before the delay of game
“I asked the official for a timeout. He said, ‘okay,’ and even said timeout, and then we got flagged for a delay. We technically had two on the stat sheet, but really only had one.
“Yeah, I was mad because we like to be one of the least penalized teams in the country.”
IU leads the Big Ten with just nine total penalties, two each in its last two games. Michigan State is next with 10 penalties. UCLA has the most, with 32.