Indiana University Athletics
10/31/2026 8:30:00 PM | Football
Postgame Quotes
Minnesota at Indiana
October 31, 2026
Minnesota at Indiana
October 31, 2026
Curt Cignetti | Indiana Head Coach
Opening Statement
CC: It's the entertainment business, so we thought we'd ramp it up with Game Day here and I could entertain for everybody (smiling).
I'm glad we decided to (indiscernible) to the plan, two-thirds of our teams in the final 19 seconds of regulation.
Defense was pretty good throughout. Can't say enough about this team finding a way to overcome this challenge when it looked really dire.
Made a play on the sideline with Charlie Becker. Made that 60-yard field goal with Paddy. First play in overtime the defense stopped them on fourth down.
Tremendous win.
Again, I thought the defense was really good throughout. The offense was not so good and sort of frazzled. Better in the second half. Then just some huge special teams gaffs throughout the entire game, which is so uncharacteristic of us.
But it's nice to be open this week. I think playing nine straight... That's what we did, we played nine straight. It will be great to have an open week, get everybody refreshed and sort of revitalized.
So great win. Questions.
On the decision to play Grant Wilson in the second half…
CC: Grant has some real qualities. Total confidence in him. Started at ODU. I saw him up close and personal my last year at JMU. Great team guy. Kids on the team love him. Big, tall, strong guy. Strong arm. Can get the ball down the field. He can run.
I have a lot of confidence in him.
Josh obviously took that hit, so I can't remember the exact moment I made my mind up. Grant did a nice job.
On the final sequences in the fourth quarter…
CC: Right. Okay, so I have my hand in a little bit of everything. I know what was going on. I knew they had a great kicker. Felt like they were going to try to run it down and end it on his kick.
He was 13 of 13 along the 51. But 51-yarder, probably had 10 to spare. I knew he could make that kick. In fact, I was considering if they only gained like seven yards and the clock was moving, and it was only going to be like a 58-yarder, calling a timeout so we'd have some time left at the end.
It became a 60- or 62-yarder from the right hash. That's a hard hash. Okay, there's a chance he could miss this, but he didn't.
First play coming out, we just kind of like took a shot there. I said to Mike, Look, let's go three by one open, four verts, throw the ball to Charlie.
Grant can make that throw. Has a strong arm. Anticipated some kind of roll coverage, outside pocket throw. We made the play. We thought the ball was out of bounds. It wasn't. Thankfully Marsh's play on the other side, same play, left two seconds on the clock. We all thought the ball was out of bounds. All of a sudden the clock is running.
Regardless, my man Paddy drills that field goal right down the middle. He's made those in practice. All I said to him was, Swing nice and easy, not an inch to the right, not an inch to the left. Sometimes kickers want to overhit those things. He's got plenty of leg for that. As soon as he hit it, knew it was good.
Then we made the play in overtime, the sluggo. One-play touchdown, kind of like Michigan. Defense held them. It's a great win. Very improbable comeback.
On the status of Rolijah Hardy…
CC: That was like a shock. Something popped in his back in pregame. They tried to take care of him, but didn't work. That was like a 20-minute-before-kickoff adjustment we had to make.
Q. With the fourth and one when you went to tie it at 13, what was the thought process there?
CC: That was some back and forth. Then I overrode everybody to kick it, because that's the play. The play right there is kick the field goal. We've outgained them. We're at home. Let's get it tied up. I know we've had some field goal problems, and that was the concern of some people. That guy's made a lot of field goals for us.
Glad we did it because even if we make that fourth and one, we got to get the ball in the end zone still. We haven't proven we can do that yet. We have the turnover from the defense early in the game and hit the RPO for a touchdown. We were down there how many times and didn't score a touchdown?
So, we had to get it to a tie.
On the 60-yarder from Paddy McAteer…
CC: I've seen him do it. We practice a lot of times. I had confidence he could get it done.
On the defense keeping the team in the game…
CURT CIGNETTI: Our defense? One-third of our team (winking).
We have good players over there, we really do. Our front's really good. That's where it starts. You think back, back in the day, all the great Super Bowl teams were great up front on defense. We're really good up front on defense. Coach Haines does a good job. Out backers are good, our DBs. They're definitely the strength of the team. There's no doubt about that. I can't say enough great things about them.
They hit us on a trick play. As soon as it started out, I knew it was coming. They made a nice throw on it, touchdown.
On the composure the team had even after some the mistakes…
CC: We just sort of withstood it. I think defense was pretty solid throughout. Offense kind of frazzled a little bit at times. Couldn't get lined up right. Special teams obviously.
I mean, we have a good punter. A rough day. We have a good field goal kicker. Had a rough day. One of the snaps, maybe two of the snaps. We hung in there and other guys made plays and we overcame it.
Indiana Student-Athletes
Grant Wilson | #2 | QB
On what was said to him at halftime…
GW: He just told me that my number was being called. At first, I mean, it's just like the journey that I've been on. I just can't thank God enough. Seven years in college is a long time, but the ups and downs. I just pray for times like this. It's unbelievable. It's part of his plan. The emotions at halftime were just go do your job. That's how it is. No matter what, even at Ohio State, when Josh went down for that one play, it's the same thought process. Just be prepared and ready to go all throughout the week.
On the last 19 seconds of the game and his thought process…
GW: I mean we prepare for that situation, all the way through fall camp and spring ball, we do the overtime. We do the two-minute, one-minute drills at the end. So going out there, 19 seconds, two two timeouts. Let's just get ball up there. Trying to get Charlie Becker, special receiver in college football, just give him a chance. He makes an unbelievable play, and then we all thought he was out. I hear the crowd start getting real loud. The next play, I look up and the clock's ticking. So I just take a three-step drop and throw it as hard as I can out of bounds over someone's head. And luckily, we had two seconds left. And Patty made an unbelievable kick. That's what he does.
Tobi Osunsanmi |#12 | DL
On the game sealing sack…
TO: At that point, in overtime, we're just playing fast, doing our 1-on-1, and that's what I happen to do. And I feel like the D linemans and tacklers also help get knocked back to make that sack a little easier for me.
On how the defense keeps delivering week after week…
TO: We just have an expectation amongst us all that we can't allow them to drive the ball on us, score points on us, and I feel like as a defense we always come together to kind of stop that.
On his improvement since last year…
TO: Just being smart with my rushes, not just thinking I can beat someone with speed all the time. That's the biggest one. Getting with my coaches, being with them, yeah, and just learning the defense as much as I can.
Paddy McAteer | #35 | K
On what was going on in his mind when his number was called…
PM: I came in for long field goals and kickoff, so I was very grateful for the opportunity. He trusted me, and he said that to me. He just said, "Swing smooth," which is what he says to me before every long field goal rep.
On when his range extended to 60 yards…
PM: I never really struggled with range, but obviously coming in from Ireland through the later kicking phase, we have a lot of guys with strong legs. So I came in ultimately as just an original kickoff specialist. So I was able to hit the ball very far always, but it was just about consistency. For me to be trusted out there from the team from that range, I believe it's just like practice and visualization, just taking whatever reps and opportunities I get in practice during the week and just seizing them and making the most of them because ultimately that's every kicker's dream.
Isaiah Jones | #46 | LB
On the ending of the game…
IJ: I don't know if I can specifically say I've seen it. That's what you get when you have two good field goal kickers, two good teams competing. No matter what happens during the game, you have to execute at the end of the game. So you saw their guy execute, and then Patty goes out there. Everyone's got full faith that he's gonna make those. We've seen him make those all-time in practice. So, it's just a guy doing his job and giving us another chance to keep playing.
On the defensive consistency…
IJ: I think we just pride ourselves on that. We don't control anything other than what we do when we're on the field, no matter who the 11 guys are, no matter if guys injured, no matter what, we take pride in that. We take pride in how we play, no matter the score. We'd be proud to go out there and play if we're up 50 points. We don't want them to score. I think that's what keeps you in these close games is we don't change the way we play depending on the score, so it is the same Indiana Hoosiers defense regardless.
Charlie Becker | #80 | WR
On what kind of spark Grant gave the guys during the second half…
CB: We went into the locker room, and Coach Cig told us Grant was going to be going out there. We were really excited—we know what Grant can do. He's a super talented quarterback. We have all the faith in the world in him, and he went out there and balled out and got us the W. […] He's my best friend. I love that kid.
On what it was like seeing Patty hit that field goal…
CB: Seeing Patty hit that field goal; I was relieved. But at the same time, the job wasn't finished. We had to go out there and score again. […] Patty, he nailed that thing. That was sick. He drilled that.
On how often Charlie practices needing to go down the field with 19 seconds left and needing a field goal…
CB: During practice throughout the week, we go through pretty much every situation you can think of. […] Coach Cig does a great job preparing us for times like this, and Coach Shanahan called great plays and trusted us to go out there and make plays.
P.J. Fleck | Minnesota Head Coach
Opening Statement…
PF: First, I have to give credit to Indiana; they are a really good football team, defending national champions. What an environment! Homecoming here, we expected to win that football game. I'm really, really proud of our players. You know, we have seen that our sports are not kind. We don't get into sports because it's all going to be rainbows and butterflies and sunshine, and unfortunately, we're on the other end of it, and it's a really hurt locker room.
I care about my players a ton. I know our coaches do too. It's a heartbreaking loss, but we did everything we possibly could to win that football game. And not everything is going to be perfect. You did everything you possibly could to put yourself in position to beat the top 4 team in the country, and had every opportunity to win it, even in the last 19 seconds. You know, at the final, with the defense, the play. I mean, we do everything that we're coached to do. So I'm so proud of our players. I'm so proud of the fight and resolve.
I mean, they walked in there thinking they were winning, winning the football game. So we did everything we could. You've got to give them credit. Their playmakers made plays when they needed to make plays, and they had to earn them, and they did it. And that's why they're the Indiana Hoosiers and number four in the country. But I am so proud of our football team. I'm proud of our coaches. Proud to represent them as a head football coach here at the University of Minnesota always will be, because I told them all I care about is how you play. The results are going to take care of itself. How you play, that's how you get measured as a man, as a football player, as a husband. How you live your life, and I'm so proud of them.
And this isn't like, oh man, you know we're not a good team. We came out here and oh, we gave them a good shot, and everybody played bad, and we had a chance, and we're a really good football team. Again, a one-possession game, another ranked opponent, and we got the lead with two seconds left. So this is: they expect to win, period, and they feel like they're a really good football team, and they're right. We just ran into another really good football team, and when you look at our schedule, that's just the way it is. We play more ranked teams than anybody else, I think, in the country. So that's what I love about the team. They love doing it.
The sports aren't kind. We teach our kids that too. You want to get in sports? They're not kind. You're going to have some really good ones. You're going to have some really hard ones. It's a hard one, but you got to give Coach Cignetti and his team a ton of credit. They're a very, very good football team, and they've been they've been battle-tested last few weeks too. They've come through. They found plays and found ways to win games, and their playmakers stepped up and made big-time plays. So, congratulations to them.
We'll learn from this. There's a lot to learn from, a lot to take in. And then what we'll do is we'll study this tonight and into tomorrow, and then we'll go on to UCLA, another top five, six, seven team, whatever they are. So I look forward to our fans showing up at Huntsville Bank Stadium and having a lean environment like it always is, and we'll learn from this and do everything we can to play better next week. So with that, open for questions.
On Luke Drzewiecki's 60-yard kick…
PF: I just asked DDP [Daniel Da Prato], "In his range?" Absolutely, set him up. I always double-check. I knew he could make that in practice; he's got the wind in his back, and their kid makes another one right in the wind.
On Minnesota's defense…
PF: We swarmed the ball, played incredibly aggressively. They were tough. They were smart. They were resilient. They got after it. I can't wait to see the swarm rate. When you look at what we did and how we got around the ball, you know, just proud of our guys. That is an unbelievable football game.
On the depth of the Indiana team..
PF: They're really, really good. And that quarterback that came in [Grant Wilson] came in with a lot of special things and a lot of great things. They had a really good number two quarterback. They're just deeper than probably any team I've ever seen. They got depth everywhere.
Minnesota Student-Athletes
Drake Lindsey | #5 | QB
On the final play…
DL: Yeah, just can't take a sack there. Understand the situation, fourth down. Obviously, I understood the situation as executing it, getting the ball up in the air, giving somebody the opportunity to make a play. So yeah, definitely can take a sack there, learn from this film and digest it, and be a better player for this team.
On the lasting legacy of this game…
DL: Yeah, it obviously stings. I mean, it's sport though. I mean, sometimes you come out on the you know the bad thing, bad side of it. It's tough. You know, there's so many things to learn from the situation, football as well. That I can manage the game better at the end of the fourth quarter. So, I mean, there's things to learn from, and it's tough, but it's also you know it's why you play the game. It's not always going to be, you know sunshine and rainbows. It's going to be tough times that you got to you know take hard coaching, learn from it, and be like, all right, you know I got to learn from this situation, not put my team in the situation next time for all positions and especially mine. So, it's tough, but it's a sour taste, and you got to learn from it. Get ready for next week.
On leading a hurt locker room…
DL:. Obviously, it's tough, but it's a sport we play. It's a sport you sign up to play when you're a little kid. It's not you know you're not going to win every single game you play in, and there's going to be tough ones like this as well. But it's a great opportunity for us to learn from and from plays and situational football, all those things from top to bottom. So, I'm really excited to attack the film and get better with my teammates and our coaches.
Maverick Baranowski | #6 | LB
On what changed schematically when Indiana changed quarterbacks…
MB: They ran a pretty similar system throughout the entire game with both quarterbacks. Give credit to that guy, he was a great player. We've just got to continue to focus on what we can get better at.
On Indiana running the ball well in the second half…
MB: They're a top-five team in the country. They've got a great offensive line, great running backs behind it. They were running the ball, and I thought we did a great job responding to that. When you play a good team like that, they're going to move the ball. I think our team did a great job defending all 100 yards of the field and bowing up when we needed to bow up. I'm really proud of the guys for that.
Players Mentioned
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