Hoosiers vs Irish: Both Coaches Discuss Keys to Victory in College Football Playoff
Source: Indiana Football
SOUTH BEND, Ind.–The Indiana Hoosiers and Notre Dame Fighting Irish get set to play each other in the College Football Playoff on Friday night in South Bend. Both Head Coaches have been discussing the matchup.
Notre Dame Head Coach Marcus Freeman says the process of getting ready stays the same for the most part.
“What we’ve been doing in terms of our preparation both mentally and physically has given this program a chance to succeed. Now all season long, we’ve talked about elevating in terms of how we prepare,” said Freeman.
Freeman has a lot of respect for Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke.
“Weather could have an impact on the football game. Indiana has done a really good job running the ball. We have to make sure and prepare for the things he does well in the passing game, but we have to also make sure that we stop the run too,” said Freeman.
Rourke has thrown 27 touchdown passes to just four interceptions and has 2,827 yards passing. Notre Dame’s starting quarterback Riley Leonard has 2,092 yards passing with 16 touchdown passes and five interceptions.
“When you play Notre Dame offensively, it starts with the run game and the quarterback is a part of the run game. It’s not just only on designed runs, but also when he drops back and he’s in the pocket,” said Indiana Hoosier Head Football Coach Curt Cignetti.
Cignetti said he can never watch too much film this time of year.
“You’re always trying to gain the edge in this business because all these coaches can coach, all these teams are good despite the records, the margins for error is very slim every game, and you’ve got to always work toward finding the edge,” said Cignetti.
Cignetti also praised Notre Dame’s defensive front.
“Up front, they’re quick, a lot of movement. But when you take into account then the blitzes, there’s a lot of moving pieces, and they play coverage extremely well. They do a great job in man coverage. They’re a really good defense, and that’s why they’ve won a lot of games,” said Cignetti.
The 11 overall victories and eight Big Ten wins for Indian each set program bests and the 28.7 scoring margin leads the FBS. Against Power 4 programs only, Indiana owns the nation’s No. 2 scoring margin at 23.1 points per game.
The meeting with Notre Dame (11-1) will be the 29th all-time meeting and first since 1991 when the two teams met in South Bend. Kickoff is at 8 pm EST.
The winner of this game goes to the Sugar Bowl against No. 2 Georgia on Jan. 1 at Caesars Superdome Stadium.
Hoosiers vs Irish: Both Coaches Discuss Keys to Victory in College Football Playoff was originally published on wibc.com
