BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti‘s lengthy resume helped him navigate his team’s lethargic start in a 31-7 win over Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon.
The No. 2 Hoosiers (11-0, 8-0 Big Ten) hardly looked like four-touchdown favorites in the early going against a Wisconsin team mired in a season-long offensive slump and down to their third-string quarterback, Carter Smith, a freshman making his first career start.
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“Sixth game in a row at the end of the year and it showed, I thought, in the first half,” Cignetti said. “We looked kind of tired.”
Indiana was lucky to go into the break with a 10-7 lead on the heels of a wobbly 37-yard field goal from Nico Radicic into the wind.
Cignetti’s mind drifted back a few years as he walked off the field at the half. He thought back to his second season at IUP in 2012 when his team stumbled out of the gate against a Lock Haven team in the midst of a 52-game losing streak.
“What’s always worked for me in these situations and worked today again is instead of going in there and kind of rip-snorting at halftime,” Cignetti said. “Just telling everybody to take a deep breath, relax, have fun, go out there and play one play at a time.”
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The message worked just as well for Indiana as it did for an IUP team that ended up beating Lock Haven by 42 points. The Hoosiers pulled away with Fernando Mendoza throwing for three touchdowns in the second half while the defense held Wisconsin to 21 yards and one first down.
It was the latest example of why IU athletic director Scott Dolson prioritized head coaching experience in his search to replace Tom Allen. This wasn’t the first time this season Cignetti had a moment of déjà vu and it used to his advantage. He let experience be his guide in a win over Illinois earlier this season while deciding whether or not to go for it on fourth down at midfield early in the game.
Cignetti, who hasn’t had a losing season in 14 years as a head coach, forged his game and player management skills long before he stepped foot in Bloomington.
“Coach Cignetti is a fantastic coach, he understands his players and his team,” Mendoza said. “He knows we were lethargic and we weren’t playing our Indiana brand of football. He took us into halftime, told us to take a deep breath, to have fun and play football. I think in the second half we saw we could have fun and play football well.”
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: What did Curt Cignetti say to Indiana football at halftime in win vs Wisconsin
