Indiana welcomes week one opponent Florida International University to Bloomington on Saturday to start its 2024-25 season. Memorial Stadium is expected to be filled with fans in anticipation for this new era of Indiana football. Besides the face-lift that the stadium’s concourse and concession stands have seen over the past few months, fans can also expect to see…
First-year head coach Curt Cignetti spoke to the media on Monday addressing questions and potential concerns about the game ahead. He said that they have been working on cutting out mistakes while still being fast, physical and smart. Cignetti, who came to IU from James Madison this offseason, said he believes that there's a fine line between how he would like to see the team perform Saturday. Smart, disciplined and poised are what came first but he also wants IU to be that team who attacks on the field.
“My focus right now is on preparing these guys and helping them be as successful as possible Saturday. And I feel good about the pieces we have in place” Cignetti said.
Cignetti referred to this weekend as chapter one of 13 and that you can’t measure teams progress until they actually play. This addresses a lot of talk around the fanbase of what is considered the “New Indiana” and era of Hoosier football.
Fans should keep an eye on senior running back Ty Son Lawton going into Saturday's game. Cignetti stressed that if anyone can make a big play and have confidence it's going to be Lawson, who followed Cignetti and transferred from James Madison. He's got this extra gear to him as a player and is gaining success as well as a player on his roster who leads by example.
Cignetti also elaborated on FIU quarterback Keyone Jenkins and how he is an extremely dangerous dual threat player. Not only is he a capable passer but knows how to extend plays out of the pocket and run. Cignetti feels confident in his starting players, but they'll have to keep Jenkins in the pocket and get to him, leaving what feels like small room for any margin of error.
Jenkins started the final 11 games at FIU in a true freshman campaign, the most productive that this team has seen since Alex McGough in 2014. He recorded 2,414 passing yards and completed 194 of 332 attempts, 11 of which were touchdowns. A challenge that Jenkins faced this off season is adjusting to a new snapper and creating that connection, one thing that he says they've communicated well on.
“I keep the intensity level high and they match me,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins feels prepared in his team as well as his own preparation for Friday. He said that they've been watching a lot of film of Cignetti’s James Madison teams to prepare for this game against the Hoosiers and that he expects to see a lot of the same plays from Indiana put on the field that he's already watched in film.
As for what Jenkins thinks that Indiana will struggle the most with FIU’s team? Their back field. The quarterback believes that they have a strong backfield and the Hoosiers are going to have a hard time stopping them.
Florida International head coach Mike MacIntyre is excited to have his team in Memorial Stadium in what's anticipated to be a full house. It seems he also feels that all of the film they have been watching from James Madison along with the Hoosiers’ spring game is preparing them for Saturday's game. He is also expecting to see a lot of similar plays from an Indiana roster and staff that is heavy in transfers from JMU.
“They're not going to be in purple and gold, they're going to be in red and white,” MacIntyre said he tells his team.
One thing that FIU is going to have to focus hard on in a game like this is making sure that their offense takes off. Focusing on the timing is something that they are still working at but getting better on however improving Jenkins’ accuracy with his pass game over camp seems to ensure a little more confidence for MacIntyre in his offense.
Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. EST at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana. Saturday's game will also be streamed on the Big Ten Network.
