Curt Cignetti warns Indiana defense about complacency after season opener

Indiana football head coach Curt Cignetti criticized his team's defensive performance following a 52-16 victory over North Texas. Despite the lopsided score, Cignetti stated during his radio show that no defensive players performed at their peak level. The unit struggled with assignments and conditioning, partially due to injuries to starting cornerbacks Jamari Sharpe and A.J. Harris early in the game. Cignetti attributed the lackluster effort to players internalizing media praise, which he labeled as "rat poison." The coach intends to use the performance as a teaching tool to refocus the team after observing breakdowns that allowed five passes of at least 20 yards. North Texas controlled the time of possession for more than 37 minutes during the contest.

• 8:02 AMYahoo Sports — Indiana football's Curt Cignetti tells defense to stop drinking the ‘Kool Aid’