Indiana football head coach Curt Cignetti addressed the media for his usual game week press conference on Monday afternoon, taking questions on the Hoosiers’ road win over Nebraska and the upcoming home matchup against Ohio State.
There was plenty to discuss. Here’s three things that stood out:
On Jeremiah Smith: “He’s a freak.”
It goes unsaid that Cignetti knows talent when he sees it, but you don’t need to be one of the best coaches in college football to know that Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith is as good as it gets at the position.
Standing at 6’4” and weighing in at 222 lbs with all the finesse and strength of a smaller receiver, Smith has it all. He’s hauled in 48 receptions so far this year for 916 yards and 11 touchdowns, only ever dipping below 100 receiving yards in games where he isn’t needed early.
Cignetti addressed Smith without being asked. Describing Ohio State’s offense under new coordinator Arthur Smith, he just couldn’t help himself in heaping praise.
“You know, there is no one like him right now playing at this level,” Cignetti said. “We got two really good ones. He’s a freak. We’re going to have to do a great job on him.”
There will be no stopping Smith himself. You can only withstand him or limit the factors that allow him to succeed.
Missed assignments against Nebraska
Indiana didn’t look like itself against Nebraska on Saturday, unable to get off the field on defense or get a drive going on offense. Asked about this, particularly the defense’s poor tackling, Cignetti chalked up the issues to missed assignments in the first half.
“A lot of our issues were assignments, and they got the ball out there in space and we had a hard time getting off blocks,” Cignetti said. “You know, but once we settled down we did a better job.”
The Hoosiers did enough to hold the Cornhuskers scoreless through the second and third quarters, which bought time for the offense to get on track in the fourth quarter, winning time. Nebraska, in spite of a touchdown in the fourth, just wasn’t able to account for Indiana’s receivers all day with the way it zeroed in on the run.
Indiana seemed to know this and made the most of it at the end, with huge credit to Nick Marsh’s six receptions for 187 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
But the Hoosiers can’t afford misses against Ohio State, which can make them pay in ways Nebraska just couldn’t.
The running game’s performance
Indiana had a strange day on the ground against Nebraska with Turbo Richard and Lee Beebe Jr. combining for just 17 carries for 41 yards.
That was, in part, due to conditions and Nebraska’s defense. Harsh winds made the passing game less of a weapon and forced Indiana onto the ground more, which Nebraska was ready for with plenty of coverage in the run game, particularly from its safeties. Then the run became less of a weapon when Indiana was facing a deficit and needed to make the most of the clock it had.
On top of this, Nebraska’s defense pointed out tendencies for the run from Indiana’s offense. Asked about this, Cignetti seemed largely unconcerned.
“Good teams have tendencies, but you to some changeup pitches, too,” Cignetti said. “Run game has got to have at-bats. When you run 16 plays in the first half you’re not getting many at-bats.”
All this to say, I wouldn’t be too much or at all concerned with the run game after Saturday.
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