BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- As the sun set over Memorial Stadium, the demons of the past crept in.
A once comfortable 17-3 halftime lead evaporated to just two, and Michigan had all the momentum – and just as the Wolverines had them on the rope, eighth-ranked Indiana rose to the occasion, putting the finishing touches on its program record 10th victory of the season.
Although his team escaped victorious on Saturday with a 20-15 defeat of Michigan, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti recognized the many missteps his team made throughout.
“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,” Cignetti said postgame. “We've got to take a good look at the film Monday and see what happens.”
The offense went stagnant in the second half, amassing just 18 yards of total offense in the second half. It quickly became evident that Indiana would have to will its way to victory. Even though it took ten weeks to show in a game, veteran quarterback Kurtis Rourke had faith that his team had what it takes to win in a tightly contested game.
“These are games that really test you as a team. We knew eventually we’d come to a game where it would be close and have to see what we’re made of,” Rourke said. “I’m really proud of the way we handled it.”
As Rourke sealed the deal with a first down on the keeper, it was the end of Indiana’s first auraless victory of the season. For Cignetti, Saturday’s victory was not about winning in style, it was about his team’s making resilient plays to win the game.
“Championship teams find a way to win football games, and not all the time do you get style points. This is probably the first one where we haven't gotten style points,” Cignetti said. “It tells you a lot about the resiliency of this team, its competitive character, but at the end of the day, they all count as one, whether it's 72-6 or 3-2. They count as one.”
In addition to the excitement about the victory, Cignetti praised his entire team for their effort. Cignetti is not known to be dishing out postgame flowers to his team, but the head coach had immense pride in what his team has done in the first ten games of the season.
“I can't say enough about these guys. I don't throw many bouquets out there. We all know that,” an emotional Cignetti said in reflection. “But these guys have accomplished quite a bit, so I can reflect on that for tonight and then we'll get back to work on Monday and have a good off week.
Naturally, both the players and coaches would enjoy blowout victories every week. Still, as the end of the season draws near, Indiana can rest easier knowing they can prevail in nail-biting finishes.
“I think this team understands that no matter what -- we can find a way to get it done,” Cignetti said. “If you polled them, they would all prefer to execute at a much higher level and score more points.”
A second bye week greets the Hoosiers before heading to Columbus for what is setting up to be an opportunity to solidify the program’s first Big Ten Championship game appearance. The bye week will be an opportunity to reflect on what has been accomplished and, more importantly, what still needs work.
“Having a week to readjust and heal up is huge… Being fully is going to be important,” Rourke said. It’s going to be good to have not just a physical break but also a mental break as we head into the final stretch.”
Cignetti will be the first to proclaim that Saturday’s victory was far from flawless, but at the end of the day, the most important thing is that his team finished another week 1-0.
“We obviously had our struggles but we found a way to get it done.”
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