IU Football Coach Looks Ahead to Upcoming Matchup vs Charlotte

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind.–The 3-0 Indiana Hoosier football team will have its final non-conference football game of the regular season this Saturday against the 1-2 Charlotte 49ers.

“It’s all eyes on Charlotte now. They’ve proven they can play up (to their opponent) at a very competitive level. Last year, they played Maryland, led at halftime, one-score game in the fourth quarter. Florida was a ball game throughout the entire game. Carolina this year is a one-score game in the third quarter,” said Indiana Head Football Coach Curt Cignetti in a Monday press conference.

IU quarterback Kurtis Rourke completed 25 out of his 33 passes for 307 yards and four touchdowns in the team’s latest victory at the Rose Bowl against UCLA this past Saturday.

“I thought Rourke played really well and did a really nice job with his eyes and was accurate. We did a great job protecting. We had no sacks. And, you know, receivers did a nice job of separating and made some really good catches too. So, I thought he played extremely well,” said Cignetti.

Charlotte is also expected to play multiple quarterbacks.

“Well, they’ve played three guys. Played two guys in the last game. Brought a guy in in the fourth quarter, an older guy. The backup was a younger guy. So, we’ll prepare for both schematically more so in terms of what they do, what they like to do. They have a receiver that can really go, Number 3. And 18, the tight end, is a good player. So, maybe the younger guy has a little bit of a liver arm and his mobility might be a little more, but the older guy has got the experience, kind of the moxie, understands how to play. So, it won’t affect our game plan a whole lot,” said Cignetti.

Indiana squares off with Charlotte September 21 at noon. After that, they resume Big Ten play against Maryland.