IU’s Cignetti: ‘I’m glad we won — I don’t like the way we played’
Michigan gave Indiana a game Saturday, but the Wolverines came up short once again in a 20-15 loss to Curt Cignetti’s team. The defense played a great second half, but the offense managed only 206 total yards.
While many lauded the Indiana defense, U-M fans have seen this movie far too many times this year. The defense fights, only to give way to an offense that can’t score points. Fifteen won’t win many games on the schedule, but that’s all they managed, and three came on a drive that started at the IU seven.
Indiana coach Cignetti was happy with the win, but not pleased with the way his team played.
“Okay, here’s how I’m going to honestly answer that question,” he said when asked about the victory. “I’m glad we won. I don’t like the way we played. I’m not happy with the way we played, particularly on offense in the second half. So, we’ve got to take a good look at the film Monday and see what happens.
“I thought special teams overall was fairly solid … I thought our defense did a number of good things, but they were on the field too long. But it’s a win. None of us are going to give it back. While I’m glad we won and that we’re keeping this going, I am not happy with the way we played.”
That’s where things stand now for these two programs, one coming off a national championship and the other usually a doormat. Indiana came in averaging 47 points per game, but the Michigan defense stiffened after giving up 17 points to fall behind two scores.
“Not many style points there,” Cignetti said. “Not going to be many people banging the drum saying Indiana ought to be rated higher in the BCS and all that good stuff. But the Indiana Hoosiers are 10-0 and have a week off, so Coach Cignetti has got a day off tomorrow.
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“I thought we had a chance to distance ourselves in the first half, and we really just didn’t take full advantage of our opportunities in the red area. We had an offensive PI call and a couple other things happen, some close calls. We still had a multiple-score lead at halftime, but we come out the first play of the second half, threw the interception [to Zeke Berry], but the defense held them.”
“For a while there, we had a hard time gaining three yards on offense. A lot of sacks. We weren’t getting anything done. But the defense would bend and not break, and we found a way to get it done.”
Thanks in part to a defense that got pressure on an unbelievable 61.8 percent of Michigan passing plays, per Pro Football Focus.
“I thought our defense played a great game, held them to 69 yards rushing, 137 yards passing, so 206 total yards,” Cignetti said. “We kept them out of the end zone quite a few times when they were deep in the red area inside the 10 down tight. And yeah, that guy [Davis Warren] was on the run quite a bit, and so great effort. Flew around. Swarmed the ball.”
As many teams have against this Michigan offense this year, unfortunately. As a result, the Hoosiers improved to 10-0 while U-M fell to 5-5 with two games remaining.
