Curt Cignetti and the No. 4 Indiana Hoosiers found a way to win in overtime last weekend.
Now they need to avoid a letdown.
Indiana (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) will look to strengthen its playoff résumé when it faces Minnesota (5-2, 3-1) on Saturday afternoon in Bloomington, Ind.
The Hoosiers are coming off a 13-6 overtime road win against Michigan. Indiana scored six points in the first half, and Michigan scored six in the second half before Indiana escaped with the victory on quarterback Josh Hoover’s 4-yard touchdown run in overtime.
There is little time for Cignetti’s team to catch its breath.
Minnesota is coming off a dramatic 13-10 win over then-No. 15 Iowa last Saturday. Golden Gophers fans stormed the field after the rivalry victory.
Cignetti watched the highlights and noted that it was not Minnesota’s first big win.
“They’ve beaten three ranked teams,” he said. “Washington was ranked, Michigan was ranked, Iowa was ranked.
“So they’re a lot like us in that they’re not going to beat themselves. They’re going to make you earn it. They’re fundamental. (Coach P.J. Fleck) does a tremendous job. They’re a good football team, so we’re going to have to play well, and we have areas we’ve got to get better at.”
The admiration is mutual. Fleck was impressed by Indiana’s defense, whether he was evaluating the defensive line, linebackers or secondary.
“I think the question is like, what don’t they do?” Fleck said. “Because I think they create an issue at every level.”
Tobi Osunsanmi is one of several players who have shined on the Hoosiers’ defense this season. He has nine sacks and a forced fumble through Indiana’s first eight games.
Osunsanmi grew up in Wichita, Kan., and played for Kansas State before transferring to Indiana for this season.
“He’s playing tremendous, great football,” Cignetti said. “He’s also a really good leader. He’s got a voice. I credit the defensive staff … for finding his niche and developing him from a technique standpoint where he can make explosive plays on defense.
“He’s a really twitched-up guy. You could see that on the Kansas State tape. Our defense is all about wreaking havoc and creating (tackles for losses) and sacks and making everything happen on their side, (their side of the) line of scrimmage, and he’s really good at that.”
Hoover leads Indiana’s offense with 1,741 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and one interception. Turbo Richard is the team’s leading rusher with 711 yards (6.7 per carry) and six touchdowns, while Charlie Becker leads the receiving corps with 42 catches for 726 yards and eight scores.
For Minnesota, Drake Lindsey has passed for 1,472 yards, nine touchdowns and six interceptions. T.J. Thomas leads the team with 325 rushing yards (5.7 per carry) and one touchdown, while Javon Tracy has caught 39 passes for 420 yards and one score.
Fleck said the upcoming game against Indiana is part of a challenging stretch of the schedule.
“I’ve said this publicly, and I’ve told our football team that if you include Iowa, it’s the hardest schedule in the country for the next six (weeks),” Fleck said. “We just got one down, went 1-0 in that, and now we’ve got five more — starting with the national champions. It doesn’t get any easier.”
