Opening speech…

Cignetti: Okay, good win. Far from perfect, believe me. 4-0 in turnover ratio against us, hadn’t turned a single ball before the game and still won by two points. But the defense really responded to each of those turnovers.

There are a lot of corrections to be made, but it was a good, brave effort.

You could feel the fans out there. I am pleased that they continue to improve in terms of visitor numbers. I thought that would be a good turnout, and good is the enemy of great, so let’s have a big turnout. Let’s sell it out next week or the next time we’re home and figure out how to make it even louder because that’s what we want to do; We want to be the best in everything we do.

Even when we are good, even when we perform well, we are not satisfied. But there was a good turnout.

We’re 5-0. But this is not the end for us. I am proud of the team and everything they have achieved.

I felt like we made good progress in the offseason, winter, spring and summer, but we had to film it. We can play better than today.

On responding to adversity…

Cignetti: Yes, there was a lot of good reaction to this game. The defense reacted to offensive ball losses. The offense responded to touchdowns that the defense gave up. We reacted more than they did.

So there was really a lot going on in this game. There is no doubt about that. Winning is good because it deepens belief in self-confidence and success, which leads to self-confidence and belief, which leads to success. You still have to put in a lot of work, but it builds self-confidence and faith.

On Indiana’s energy during the game…

Cignetti: Well, we are. We want to play every move as if it were 0-0. Never too high, never too low. Something bad happens, okay, we’ll play this piece. If 11 players play like that consistently, then you have a chance.

About the defensive line and the pressure it applied…

Cignetti: Yeah, I don’t know how many sacks we had total. Five? OK. He seemed to be on the ground a lot at the start of the game and that’s exactly what we wanted to do.

We just have to do it – if we have a chance to attack the jugular, we have to get a little better at it. But they have some playmakers. They’ve got a few guys coming after you. They put us in a defense that we didn’t want to be in long term.

But that’s where it all starts, right at the beginning. We are experienced in advance. We think that’s one of our strengths and it was definitely one of the areas where they weren’t feeling great coming into the game and we needed a big win there and I think we got it .

When you get a blocked punt late in the game…

Cignetti: Yes, that was great. I have no idea what happened. I took off my headset and gave it to someone behind me, but I completely missed it. I just wish we had done it and scored.

To limit the effectiveness of the Tai Felton receiver…

Cignetti: Well, I think he went out, didn’t he? And not returned, right? It’s hard for him to have a big day when he’s not on the field.

Follow-up question pointing out that Felton went out in the third quarter…

Cignetti: What did he have? He had five for 38, yes. But Hemby made some.

We did a pretty good job and it started with the pressure at the front. However, they did ambush us a few times.

How Kurtis Rourke reacted to his own misfortune…

Cignetti: Yeah, I mean he reacted like I felt like he would. I didn’t think the two interceptions would faze him, and he didn’t.

When we had our one-on-one opportunities, we won, and we played well when we played with the tempo, the two-minute drive and some other times. He’s an old grizzly vet. He needs to keep the ball in his pocket a little better when he runs it.

About wide receivers Omar Cooper Jr. and Elijah Sarratt…

Cignetti: Yes. They won their duels when the press reported it and we got the ball to them and I was happy to see Donaven win his duel in the red zone. This was a play we were hoping could be called against zero blitz coverage.

We felt the game had gone in our favor and it did.

About the effect of the fans…

Cignetti: Oh, it is extremely valuable. Players feed off this energy. Look, it’s all about energy, right? It takes energy to do anything, and the fans provide the energy, and the players feed off that energy.

I don’t know how many points it’s worth, but it’s really important and I think we’ve got everything moving in the right direction here.

What the Hoosiers learned about themselves…

Cignetti: Well, I think you learn something about your team every week. You play 12 regular season games and also learn about them during the off week. I thought it would be a good challenge for us and we survived it. We have done a lot of good things. But there are a lot of things we can do better.

On a “new” Indiana this season…

Cignetti: Well, I don’t know what old Indiana was other than what I saw on tape or maybe looked up in a record book.

We are who we are and we have a blueprint, a plan and a philosophy for how we play the game. It’s about people and processes. I think we have a chance to be a good football team. Todd Blackledge said at the end of the UCLA game that this is a good football team, Indiana. You have to prove that every day, in every game.

About tight end Zach Horton and his impact…

Cignetti: Yeah, well, I’m glad other coaches point out how valuable he is when they follow us on video or scout us. It’s not just about his touch. He does a lot of great things for us offensively. He really is a bloodthirsty tough guy with talent.

He is a great football player.

On the versatility of the running game…

Cignetti: We play with these three defenders every game and they have been really consistent. If we hadn’t turned it over four times we might have had 200.