Amid 6-0 start, Curt Cignetti has complete focus on the week ahead: 'The key now is our response'

After a 30-20 road victory over Oregon, Indiana’s playoff chances are at an all-time high. The Hoosiers have a clear path to the Big Ten Championship, while the narrative surrounding Curt Cignetti‘s team has shifted significantly. All this dramatic change, but there’s one thing that has remained exactly the same.

Cignetti hasn’t wavered in the message to his team. He’s remained firm in the fact that all of his focus is on the next opponent, and the next opponent only.

Yes, the Hoosiers will be favored in their final six regular-season games, most likely by double digits, but Cignetti couldn’t care less. He’s let his team know that the noise surrounding their 6-0 record can only hurt them, and their focus has to be on Michigan State ahead of the homecoming game on Saturday.

“Rip off the rearview mirror, so to speak. Total focus on Michigan State. I think the key now is our response coming off of this game” Cignetti said on Monday.

Indiana’s head coach was clear: He isn’t thinking about Oregon anymore. The past is in the past, and the Hoosiers have to be fixated on the week ahead. They can only control what’s in front of them, and for this week, that happens to be Jonathan Smith’s Spartans.

Cignetti has great respect for coach Smith and Michigan State. He made sure to compliment their offense and mentioned that they’ll be getting the Hoosiers’ full attention. This is classic coach speak, but his message to the media is the exact same message Cignetti has for his players.

Early Look: Meet Indiana’s Week 8 opponent, Michigan State

He understands that Michigan State at home isn’t the same challenge as Oregon on the road, but the mentality doesn’t change. Each game is an opportunity to pick up a Big Ten win, and for a team eyeing the conference’s best record, every win matters the same.

“This team has met every challenge up to this point, because they’ve been hungry and humble, prepared properly and put it on the field, which requires commitment, discipline, sacrifice, you know, eliminating the noise and clutter, controlling the controllables, and putting themselves in the best position for success, because when you prepare properly, it breeds confidence and brings out your best” Cignetti added.

You may notice some of Curt Cignetti’s comments. “Humble and hungry,” as well as “eliminating noise and clutter,” and “controlling the controllables” are phrases that he uses quite often, and that’s by design.

It’s the same type of preparation. Every opponent will get Indiana’s best, and Cignetti is extremely intentional about it. He preaches this from the top down, with leaders like Aiden Fisher and Pat Coogan as the mouthpieces for the offense and defense, respectively.

With a team completely bought in, you might think that a lot of this goes relatively unsaid between Cignetti and the players. As long as the Hoosiers are getting the job done on the field, does the head coach have to keep repeating himself?

Well, Cignetti was asked exactly that during his Monday media availability, and he grinned once he heard the question.

“Oh, no, no.. Yeah. We have a team meeting tonight at 5 and I’ll talk to the team tonight and put the message out there.” he said with a smile still on his face.

His message is clear: Total and complete focus on the Spartans, and then UCLA, and then Maryland and so on. All in that order, week after week, with no overlap to speak of.

MORE: ‘That is a legitimate National Championship contender’: Joel Klatt all in on Indiana following win at Oregon

Cignetti also mentioned that he doesn’t normally talk to the team on Tuesday or Wednesday, but he usually does on Thursday or Friday. Saturday before the game, he’ll speak to the team as well, and then of course at halftime and after the game.

“But, you know, sometimes I’ll jump in there and talk to them Tuesday or Wednesday after practice if I think I need to” he said, mentioning that there’s times where his message needs to be repeated more often throughout the week.

Will preparation for Michigan State be an instance where Cignetti needs to step in when he otherwise wouldn’t? We’ll probably never know, but he made it a point to mention that this is a critical week for his team.

The grin on his face when he got the question said it all. He knows that he’ll need to grab the attention of his players after a monumental win. It’s human nature to get caught up in success like that, but Cignetti is making it his mission to get his team ready for the second half of the regular season.

The Hoosiers are 6-0. They’re favorites to make the Big Ten title game and have a 92.6 percent chance to make the College Football Playoff. The season has gone wonderfully for Indiana, but that could all be gone in an instant if the Hoosiers don’t keep their focus against opponents looking to pull off an upset.

Success can be a double-edged sword, but Curt Cignetti is making sure that his Hoosiers remain focused. With an opportunity to continue stacking wins as they work toward something greater than itself, Indiana isn’t hung up on the past and has 100 percent of its effort on the week ahead.

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