Media Monday: at Oregon
10/6/2025 1:00:00 PM | Football
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. –––– After the bye week, Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti addressed the media inside the Don Croftcheck Football Team Room on Monday (October 6) ahead of the 3:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday (October 11) at No. 3/2 Oregon.
Below is a full transcript of the press conference, while video of the media session can be found on the right sidebar at IUHoosiers.com.
Curt Cignetti | Head Coach
Opening Statement
CC: Good bye week. Got rested up. Got practice in. Kept the fundamentals and timing sharp. Now it's 100 percent focus on Oregon. Great opponent, great team, a lot of great players. Extremely well-coached.
Big, fast, athletic, physical, depth. Coach (Dan) Lanning has done a tremendous job recruiting, development, attention. Probably one of the most impressive young coaching phenoms to come around in a while I would say, having been in this game for a little bit. They're a great football team.
Looking forward to the challenge. Confidence in our team.
On Oregon's depth and their ability to acquire talent…
CC: Well, I don't know what their resources are. All I know is they've got a lot of good players.
On playing in high profile matchups and if the players are more comfortable handling those…
CC: Well, I have not seen our players in a couple days, and we have a veteran team. So, they've been around the block. Most of them have been in games like this before.
On what makes Dante Moore effective…
CC: Well, he's playing really well. He's another guy, got big-time arm talent, quick release, accurate. He's very athletic, very fluid, can run, extend plays, change of direction. He's getting the ball out on time, rhythm. He snaps it off really quick.
He's really impressive on tape. The wide receivers are equally as impressive. Tight end, good depth there; good depth at running back. They spread the ball around. They use the field, and they run the ball well.
As he's played more, you can see he's building on his success, confidence, belief, and he's one of the great quarterbacks in the country. There's no doubt about it.
On the travel plan out west and if anything changes with playing a top tier team in Oregon…
CC: More no than yes, but a little bit. We're going to get out there slightly earlier than we did UCLA, but it won't be by much.
On the margin between other teams and the roster size…
CC: Well, we're not as big as Oregon. They can roll four inside guys at D-tackle that are 330 plus. They've got big people in there.
I guess we're going to find out this week, but what I would say about Ohio State and Notre Dame, you can dwell on the line of scrimmage, but I don't think we won the battle at any position in those games.
On decisions to audible and anticipated crowd noise…
CC: We've never been a check audible team, really, to be honest with you. Early on at JMU (James Madison) maybe we'd send a play in, and he had to have a certain look, and he'd look to the sideline, but we quit doing that after year two.
We don't do a lot of it. We talk about doing it at times. We'll see what this week brings.
On what Fernando Mendoza has to do to excel against Oregon…
CC: He made some outstanding throws against Iowa. I don't recall that exact comment. Left some plays out there, too, but he was under pressure quite a bit, as well.
I just want Fernando, like the rest of the guys on the team, to relax and play their game. We're just going to go out there and play our game and play it well.
On how the tough atmosphere at Iowa helps prepare for playing at Autzen Stadium…
CC: Well, I think anytime you do something the second time, it helps that you've been through it one time before. Iowa was a sellout. It was loud. To have that kind of preparation going into this game will help.
On if the travel experience last year at UCLA will help as a foundation for the entire team to travel west this year…
CC: There's not much to figure out. That's what we do every game. We get in about the same time in the evening and we've got our routine. It's just the way I like to do it.
On what his mindset is going into a big game…
CC: I mean, I'm trying to get as much done today as possible and find the edge, like every game.
I say it all the time; you prepare for them all the same. Otherwise you'd be doing a disservice to your team if you're all in one game and not all in on another. From that standpoint, it's pretty much the same.
On how to combat size differential…
CC: Well, you put together the best plan for your team that you think gives you the best chance to be successful. But I have confidence in our team, right. They are big. They are athletic. They are a very good football team. We're a good football team.
On the status of D'Angelo Ponds and how did the secondary hold up without him against Iowa…
CC: I expect Ponds to be fine and play. We found out late in the week he wouldn't be available for the Iowa game, so Coach (Bryant) Haines took out the eraser and ink pen and game plan changed a little bit, played a little bit more zone than he was planning on playing going into the game, and I thought we did well.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
Below is a full transcript of the press conference, while video of the media session can be found on the right sidebar at IUHoosiers.com.
Curt Cignetti | Head Coach
Opening Statement
CC: Good bye week. Got rested up. Got practice in. Kept the fundamentals and timing sharp. Now it's 100 percent focus on Oregon. Great opponent, great team, a lot of great players. Extremely well-coached.
Big, fast, athletic, physical, depth. Coach (Dan) Lanning has done a tremendous job recruiting, development, attention. Probably one of the most impressive young coaching phenoms to come around in a while I would say, having been in this game for a little bit. They're a great football team.
Looking forward to the challenge. Confidence in our team.
On Oregon's depth and their ability to acquire talent…
CC: Well, I don't know what their resources are. All I know is they've got a lot of good players.
On playing in high profile matchups and if the players are more comfortable handling those…
CC: Well, I have not seen our players in a couple days, and we have a veteran team. So, they've been around the block. Most of them have been in games like this before.
On what makes Dante Moore effective…
CC: Well, he's playing really well. He's another guy, got big-time arm talent, quick release, accurate. He's very athletic, very fluid, can run, extend plays, change of direction. He's getting the ball out on time, rhythm. He snaps it off really quick.
He's really impressive on tape. The wide receivers are equally as impressive. Tight end, good depth there; good depth at running back. They spread the ball around. They use the field, and they run the ball well.
As he's played more, you can see he's building on his success, confidence, belief, and he's one of the great quarterbacks in the country. There's no doubt about it.
On the travel plan out west and if anything changes with playing a top tier team in Oregon…
CC: More no than yes, but a little bit. We're going to get out there slightly earlier than we did UCLA, but it won't be by much.
On the margin between other teams and the roster size…
CC: Well, we're not as big as Oregon. They can roll four inside guys at D-tackle that are 330 plus. They've got big people in there.
I guess we're going to find out this week, but what I would say about Ohio State and Notre Dame, you can dwell on the line of scrimmage, but I don't think we won the battle at any position in those games.
On decisions to audible and anticipated crowd noise…
CC: We've never been a check audible team, really, to be honest with you. Early on at JMU (James Madison) maybe we'd send a play in, and he had to have a certain look, and he'd look to the sideline, but we quit doing that after year two.
We don't do a lot of it. We talk about doing it at times. We'll see what this week brings.
On what Fernando Mendoza has to do to excel against Oregon…
CC: He made some outstanding throws against Iowa. I don't recall that exact comment. Left some plays out there, too, but he was under pressure quite a bit, as well.
I just want Fernando, like the rest of the guys on the team, to relax and play their game. We're just going to go out there and play our game and play it well.
On how the tough atmosphere at Iowa helps prepare for playing at Autzen Stadium…
CC: Well, I think anytime you do something the second time, it helps that you've been through it one time before. Iowa was a sellout. It was loud. To have that kind of preparation going into this game will help.
On if the travel experience last year at UCLA will help as a foundation for the entire team to travel west this year…
CC: There's not much to figure out. That's what we do every game. We get in about the same time in the evening and we've got our routine. It's just the way I like to do it.
On what his mindset is going into a big game…
CC: I mean, I'm trying to get as much done today as possible and find the edge, like every game.
I say it all the time; you prepare for them all the same. Otherwise you'd be doing a disservice to your team if you're all in one game and not all in on another. From that standpoint, it's pretty much the same.
On how to combat size differential…
CC: Well, you put together the best plan for your team that you think gives you the best chance to be successful. But I have confidence in our team, right. They are big. They are athletic. They are a very good football team. We're a good football team.
On the status of D'Angelo Ponds and how did the secondary hold up without him against Iowa…
CC: I expect Ponds to be fine and play. We found out late in the week he wouldn't be available for the Iowa game, so Coach (Bryant) Haines took out the eraser and ink pen and game plan changed a little bit, played a little bit more zone than he was planning on playing going into the game, and I thought we did well.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
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