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Cignetti not thrilled with opener, turns focus to Kennesaw State

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza readies for a snap during Saturday's game against Old Dominion at Memorial Stadium.
Alexandra Halm
/
WFIU/WTIU News
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza readies for a snap during Saturday's game against Old Dominion at Memorial Stadium.

Indiana University coach Curt Cignetti was still less than impressed with the Hoosiers’ season-opening win at his weekly press conference Monday.

Indiana was a more than three touchdown favorite to beat Old Dominion Saturday, but came away with a 27-14 victory.

We probably left 35 points out there on offense, with six possessions inside the 10, primarily the goal line offense,” the second-year head coach said.

The Hoosiers still dominated the game. IU piled up more than 500 total yards on offense. The Monarchs’ two scores came on runs of 75 and 78 yards. Outside of those two plays, Indiana’s defense held ODU’s offense to just 161 yards.

Cignetti said it’s a testament to how far the program has come that people were underwhelmed by Saturday’s win.

“It's good that we've gotten to the point where people's expectations are such that they're not happy with just wins,” he said. “But, at the end of the day, they all count as one win.”

Cignetti and the team’s attention now turns to Kennesaw State. The Owls lost their opener Saturday at Wake Forest, 10-9.

“Brand new coach, high tempo offense,” Cignetti said. “They can go at warp speed and they can slow it down. Defense, guys run around good (and) held Wake Forest to nine points.”

Still, Cignetti says the Hoosiers must improve this week.

“Not pleased,” Cignetti said about Saturday’s game. “I can't imagine anybody on the team is pleased. We got to get better.”

This Saturday’s game against Kennesaw State kicks off at noon. It will be broadcast on FS1.

Patrick Beane spent three decades as a journalist at The Herald-Times in Bloomington before joining the staff at WFIU/WTIU News. He began his career at the newspaper after graduating from Indiana University in 1987 and was the sports editor from 2010-2020. His duties at the paper included writing, copy editing, page design and managing the sports department.
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