What Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said about Michigan before playing the Wolverines: 'Really tough opponent'

Michigan Wolverines football has a long track record of beating up on Indiana, leading the all-time series 58-10, but the Maize and Blue will be underdogs in Bloomington Saturday. Under first-year head coach Curt Cignetti, the Hoosiers are 9-0 and ranked No. 8 in the Associated Press poll, fighting for Big Ten title game and College Football Playoff berths with three regular-season games remaining.

While Michigan is 5-4 overall and 3-3 in the Big Ten, Cignetti is expecting a challenge this weekend.

“All eyes on Michigan,” Cignetti said at his Monday press conference. “Really tough opponent. Obviously, won the national championship last season. It wasn’t much of a game between the two teams last year. And a lot of good players — really stout defense, really good special teams, they run the ball well, good tight end, running backs. Offensive line functions well. Settled in on a quarterback who can spin it. The receivers are more than capable.

“So we’ll have to have a great week of preparation and play our best to have a shot.”

Cignetti mentioned parts of Michigan’s offense but didn’t group it in with the “really stout defense” and “really good special teams.” The Wolverines rank 116h nationally with 21 points per game and have especially struggled with the pass game, averaging 133.8 passing yards per contest (128th).

“I look at them, and I see a really good defense, really good special teams,” Cignetti reiterated. “And offensively, they haven’t scored points — they’re not in the 40s and 50s. But they can run the ball from 11, 12 and 13 personnel, they’ve got weapons, they’ve got good backs, they’ve got good players.

“They’re a good football team coming in here with all that tradition, a lot of history, a lot of pride. It’s part of the reason why it’s on national TV at 3:30. To meet that challenge, we’ve gotta have a great week of preparation.”

Michigan’s top offensive player, junior Colston Loveland, is one of the best tight ends in the sport. He leads the team and ranks second among Power Four tight ends with 69 targets, 49 receptions and 523 receiving yards.

“Well, you gotta be aware of him, for sure — down the field and on screens, various things,” Cignetti said. “Because when you’ve got size and speed like that, you prepare a personnel mismatch. He’s an excellent football player. They’ve got a lot of really good football players.”

Michigan’s defense, coordinated by Wink Martindale, is blitz-heavy and shows many different fronts, coverages and pre-snap looks. Cignetti was asked if his offensive line is prepared to face everything Martindale and the Wolverines will throw at them.

“We’re still fairly early in our preparation, but at this point in the season, you’ve seen most of what you’re gonna see,” Cignetti replied. “They do present a lot of looks, and they do a great job.

“He does a great job — he’s an excellent coordinator, coordinated in the NFL a long time. When you put the tape on, you see a defense that’s very multiple, he tries to create problems for offenses and good players that fly around and play hard. It all starts up front for them. They’re good inside, and they’re good on the edge.

“They’re an aggressive defense, so we’ll have a good plan to be balanced on offense and protect the quarterback and free guys up in the pass game, hopefully in critical situations. And then we gotta go out and execute.”

Indiana’s pass protection has held up throughout the season, but the Hoosiers haven’t had a tough schedule to date. Quarterback Kurtis Rourke has only been pressured on 20.7 percent of his dropbacks. He’s been extremely efficient overall, completing 73.3 percent of his passes for 1,204 yards and 19 touchdowns with 3 interceptions.