Curt Cignetti's Biggest Takeaways From Indiana's Narrow Victory Over Nebraska

Indiana football needed nearly everything it had to escape Lincoln with its undefeated record intact Saturday afternoon.

The Hoosiers overcame a double-digit fourth-qaurter deficit to defeat Nebraska 20-17, improving to 6-0 despite being outplayed for much of the afternoon.

Following the victory, head coach Curt Cignett acknowledged Indiana's shortcomings while praising his team's ability to respond when things weren't going its way.

Here are the biggest takeaways from Cignetti's postgame press conference.

Indiana needed to settle down before it could fight back

For much of the first half, Indiana looked nothing like the team that had dominated its first five opponents. Nebraska controlled the game, and Cignetti didn't attempt to sugarcoat the Hoosiers' performance afterward.

"Nebraska played great. They dominated us," Cignetti said of the first half.

But rather than dwelling on everything that had gone wrong, Cignetti's halftime message centered on getting his team to regroup and focus on what remained.

"The biggest thing is we just settled down," Cignetti said. "We got them settled down at halftime. Took a deep breath, forgot the first half — except for the corrections and adjustments."

The response wasn't immediate, nor was it always pretty. But Indiana gradually worked its way back into the contest, particularly as its defense began to resemble the unit that has been so dependable throughout Cignetti's tenure.

Cignetti believes difficult wins carry their own value

Indiana has grown accustomed to winning comfortably under Cignetti. Saturday required something entirely different.

The Hoosiers weren't the better team for long stretches, and Cignetti acknowledged there would be plenty to correct.

"There's going to be a lot of things we don't like on tape," Cignetti said. "I'll tell you that right now."

Still, the ability to overcome those shortcomings was precisely what made the victory meaningful.

"You have to have an indomitable will," Cignetti said. "A will that cannot be defeated or subdued. You have to be resilient and have the ability to overcome the unexpected."

Cignetti said it took everything his players and coaches had to find a way past Nebraska. For a program that has made winning look routine over the past two seasons, Saturday served as a reminder that not every victory will come easily.

"Good teams find a way to win a game like this at the end," Cignetti said.

Josh Hoover delivered when Indiana needed him most

Indiana's offense wasn't particularly sharp for much of Saturday, but Josh Hoover still managed to produce one of the game's biggest plays.

Facing fourth-and-1 near midfield in the fourth quarter, Hoover recognized Nebraska's commitment to stopping the run and found an open receiver over the middle for a long touchdown.

"He had great poise, presence and was calm and delivered a strike," Cignetti said.

The play was another example of Hoover's ability to remain composed in a critical moment.

Cignetti also pointed to Hoover's 17 touchdown passes without an interception this season.

"That's not bad," Cignetti said.

Indiana's inability to run the football was surprising

One of the biggest surprises Saturday was just how thoroughly Nebraska neutralized Indiana's rushing attack.

After running wild against Rutgers a week earlier, the Hoosiers managed just 66 yards on 22 carries.

"Early on it was obvious they were committed to stopping the run. We really never quite got the run game going." Cignetti said. "I thought we'd run the ball better than we did."

Nebraska's commitment to taking away the ground game forced Indiana to find other ways to move the football. While the Hoosiers ultimately did enough to win, their inability to establish a consistent rushing attack made an already difficult afternoon even more challenging.

Cignetti said the coaching staff would evaluate what went wrong Sunday. It's an issue Indiana will need to address as Big Ten play continues.

Cignetti explains his fourth-down decisions

There were several moments Saturday when Indiana appeared prepared to keep its offense on the field in fourth-down situations, only to reconsider and ultimately punt.

Cignetti admitted afterward that some of those decisions came down to resisting the temptation to be aggressive while his offense struggled to find any rhythm.

"A lot of them were maybe, God, I just wanted to go for it," Cignetti said. "We weren't getting anything done [offensively] and the clock is running down, let's just survive it. Let's stop the bleeding. Punt the ball. Those were all on me."

It's an interesting admission from a coach whose teams have so often dictated the terms of games. With Indiana struggling to sustain drives, Cignetti opted against potentially making a difficult situation worse.

The decisions didn't necessarily help Indiana establish momentum, but they kept the Hoosiers from taking additional risks while Nebraska controlled the contest.

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