After a narrow victory at Nebraska, IU’s football team faces Ohio State on Saturday in one of the most anticipated games ever on the Bloomington campus.
“It’s just a football game. I’m glad it’s at home,” IU coach Curt Cignetti said. “Two good teams. A great team we’re playing. I’m not sure how good we are yet.”
The Buckeyes have the odds-on favorite to win the Heisman Trophy in wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.
Smith has emerged as one of college football’s most dangerous playmakers. Cignetti said he stands out even on a star-studded roster.
“They’re really, really good,” Cignetti said. “And not only do they have a lot of excellent players, they got a ‘wow’ player. That’s the only word to describe that I can think of.”
Smith, a junior, has already set records at Ohio State for career receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. He’s also on pace to break Big Ten records for career receiving yards, career receiving touchdowns, single-season receiving yards, and single-season receiving touchdowns.
“He’s taken it up a notch without question,” Cignetti said. “He’s a freak, and we’re going to have to do a great job on him.”
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Indiana’s defense will have to correct some of the issues that showed up in its most recent game if it hopes to slow down the Buckeyes.
The Hoosiers escaped Nebraska with a 20-17 victory Saturday after trailing 17-6 in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Josh Hoover connected with wide receiver Nick Marsh for two long touchdown passes to help Indiana complete the comeback and remain undefeated.
Cignetti called it a ‘gut-check’ win, praising his team for staying in the game after struggling in the first half.
“It would have been easy to let that game get away from you in the first half,” Cignetti said. “We hung in there.”
Other takeaways from Cignetti’s press conference;
On true freshman linebacker Jacob Savage: “You know, really an instinctive player, loves ball, loves the process. I mean, he’s a football guy through and through. And he had a lot of tackles in high school.”
According to Savage’s Twitter, he recorded 511 tackles during his high school career.
On the Hoosiers’ struggles to run the ball against Nebraska: “Good teams have tendencies, but you got to have some changeup pitches, too. You know, the run game's got to have at bats. When you run 16 plays in the first half, you know, you're not getting many at bats.”
The Hoosiers ran just 16 plays in the first half, limiting their opportunities to get the running game going.
The Big Ten announced game times for Oct. 24. The Hoosiers play at Michigan at noon.
