Curt Cignetti did not mince words on Monday afternoon during his weekly press conference in Bloomington. The Hoosiers survived an upset bid against Northwestern and after further review, Coach Cignetti was not pleased with what he saw.
1. The Hoosiers Did Not Play Well
It should come as no shock to anyone who watched the game live or on replay, the Hoosiers did not play their ‘A’ game on Friday night in a 29-23 win over Northwestern.
“Negative is we didn’t play well. We were very inconsistent. We got to play better. We’re not going to go very far playing the way we played Saturday night. Took the offense about 22 minutes to get going. First 25 plays there was 12 either penalties, critical missed assignments, or missed opportunities. We should have gone in there at halftime with a four-score lead and went in 12-nothing,” Cignetti said.
IU leaned on their defense in the first half, but they seemed to show some cracks in the second half as the Hoosiers failed to contain Northwestern quarterback Aidan Chiles.
“Defensively, third quarter, third and 13, about 11 minutes to go, they haven’t done anything on offense, not much at least, and we let the quarterback get out of the pocket. After that, they made throws and catches, we couldn’t corral the quarterback in the pocket, and they scored their last four drives.” Cignetti added.
The good news for IU is that they won the game and remain in the AP Top 10. With back-to-back road trips coming up against Rutgers and Nebraska, Cignetti must get his team tuned up for the meat of their season.
2. Encouraging News on Turbo Richard and Rolijah Hardy
Indiana suffered two potentially high-impact injuries to starting running back Turbo Richard and starting linebacker Rolijah Hardy. Speculation early Saturday morning of a high ankle sprain for Richard gave way to a more optimistic report that the injury was not as bad as it could have been. Cignetti addressed those concerns on Monday.
“We got really good news on Turbo and he’ll be day-to-day. I’m optimistic he can play Saturday.” Cignetti said.
Hardy, who is Indiana’s leading tackler again in 2026, received a similar report from his head coach.
“We expect him to be fine,” Cignetti said. The Hoosiers will need a healthy Hardy to race a Rutgers offense that has one of the best wide receivers in the sport in KJ Duff and an All-Big Ten running back in Antwan Raymond.
3. Helping Out Adedamola Ajani at Right Tackle
The right side of Indiana’s offensive line has been an issue. Red flags were planted when Cignetti said that they were moving Joe Brunner out to tackle and Adedoamola Ajani in to play guard. That experiment did not make it through fall camp before they were flipped back. Ajani has been beaten a number of times in pass protection and needs help there,
“Ajani has made nice progress. Every once in a while we have to get him some help on pass pro,” Cingetti said.
One of the other problems has been the youth at tight end. While they have been solid in spots, they need to grow up quickly and become more consistent.
4. Youth Starting to Shine in Jaylen Bell and Davion Chandler
The Hoosiers have had to turn to a couple of younger players due to injury or lack of production. On offense wide receiver Davion Chandler has showed what he can do in some pretty big spots. While he is still earning the trust of the staff he has shown the ability to make plays. He has six catches for 89 yards and three touchdowns.
“He’s made big plays for us, and at that position you got to block, too, do other things. But I’m pleased with his progress. We’ve gotten him involved. And obviously got Becker, Nick, and Shazz Preston, older guy making plays and big, strong guy. So I like our core, and Davion is an important part of it.” Cignetti said.
On the defensive side of the ball Jaylen Bell has filled in well when both Jamari Sharpe and AJ Harris went down early with injuries. Sharpe has returned and Bell has taken over the field corner position. He’s made six tackles thus far and nearly picked off a pass last week.
“There are a few more nuances to the boundary corner position in the field, and Jaylen have been consistent in all his opportunities to the field. Be nice to see him come up with that interception there at the end the half. He had the ball in his hands. He’s got a good attitude. He works hard. Smart football player. It’s important to him.” Cignetti said.
5. KJ Duff and Antwan Raymond are on the Radar
Dismiss Rutgers at your own risk. Despite losing to UMass and Boston College early, the Scarelt Knights may have found their stride with a close loss to USC and a win over Howard. Much of that is due to wide receiver KJ Duff and running back Antwan Raymond.
Duff, who has 550 yards and seven touchdowns on 29 catches, is a nightmare to matchup with. He is 6’6″ and 225 pounds, he can run and has great hands.
“KJ Duff is a premier receiver and their other receivers are developing. They got a good running back, Antwan Raymond. Kirk Ciarocca, offensive coordinator does a nice job with that offense. Greg Schiano is obviously a great coach.” Cignetti said.
Raymond started the season slowly, but has caught fire lately with three consecuative games with over 120 yards runshing. Indiana leads the Big Ten in fewest rushing yards allowed with just 65.8 yards per game.
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