MEMORIAL STADIUM (IUSTV Sports)
In less than 365 days Curt Cignetti has come into Bloomington and completely changed the landscape of Indiana Football. For the first time since 1967 the Hoosiers are 5-0 to start the season with the latest coming from a 42-28 victory over Maryland.
It was not all sunshine and rainbows for the Hoosiers as a rainy Memorial Stadium saw Indiana cough up the ball four times. Despite the mishaps however, this team was resilient as Cignetti and company continue to practice what they preach.
Three things really stood out from this one so let's take a look.
This Team will Battle for 60 Minutes
The first two drives that Indiana had in this one resulted in interceptions thrown by Kurtis Rourke; the first two turnovers on the Hoosiers season. Rourke would still go on to throw for 359 yards and three scores after the fact. The response from the quarterback was strong, but expected for those around the team.
"I felt like he would...I didn't think he'd be flustered by the two interceptions...he's a grizzled vet," Cignetti said.
Rourke may be the large example of facing adversity today, but the team overall battled as a unit en route to their fifth win in five games.
The IU defense was not a perfect product, but in the more crucial moments of the game they came to play in big ways. Reminder that Indiana turned the ball over four times in this game. The Terrapins laid a goose egg in points off turnovers largely due to the defense that forced three and outs on three of the four.
Indiana may not have forced a turnover themselves, but the five sacks and 5/15 3rd down rate allowed the offense to find its groove after the early struggles.
"We want to play every play like it's nothing nothing...you get 11 guys playing that way consistently, then you got a chance," Cignetti said.
This was not domination by any stretch of the imagination, but Indiana never found themselves trailing, as they are yet to do so all season. Maryland was able to match the Indiana scores all the way up to the 21-21 scoreline, which it was then that Indiana had that final push to put away the game.
The Hoosiers finished the game strong scoring 21 points in a span of 11 minutes and 31 seconds of game time. One of which coming from the hands of Donaven McCulley to extend the lead to 35-21 as McCulley hauled in his first touchdown of the season. The Hoosiers kept their foot on the gas as Ty Son Lawton punched in the final touchdown Indiana would score.
"We responded more than they did," Cignetti said.
The response and tenacity was too much for the Terrapins as the Hoosiers were able to feel the noise today.
The Fans Were Loud
It has been a long time since Indiana has seen Memorial Stadium at both the capacity and volume that it was today.
From start to finish Memorial was bumping, and although not full, Indiana football has really not seen a crowd like this. At least not since the Cincinnati home game in 2021.
"It's extremely valuable," Cignetti said. "You got to have energy to do anything and the fans are supplying that energy."
Fans make sports worth watching, and when a team is performing at a level that is worth the watch, the fans will show up. Indiana fans did just that. After Cignetti sent a school wide email explaining the importance of supporting a team that is reaching levels that have not been seen in 57 years, the response was strong and Memorial Stadium had a true buzz.
"It's fantastic, best fans in the Big Ten...(I'm) really looking forward to more turnouts like this," quarterback Kurtis Rourke said.
Once again, this was not even a sellout, but it is the building block for something that can become legit. There has been chatter all season about fan turnout, and this was needle moving moment that shows fans who didn't show up that there is a product worth watching.
The New Indiana Football is Here
The non-conference schedule is always tough to truly gauge whether or not a team is making the proper strides. While yes, a record setting outing against Western Illinois does turn some heads, it really takes taking down the familiar foes to show the progress.
Indiana, now 5-0 for once again the first time in 57 years, has been rolling and now the conversations move from IF this team can make a bowl game, but rather how high can this team fly.
For the fourth consecutive game the Hoosiers have scored 40 or more points as Indiana is averaging around 48 points per game, 513 yards per game, while only giving up 240 yards per game.
The production on both sides of the ball is up there with some of the top programs in the country. Also, Indiana is one of three remaining CFB teams that are yet to trail at ANY point in the regular season. Tennessee and Texas are the other two...so to have Indiana in the same realm as the AP No. 1 and No. 5 teams in the country means something big.
This is a formidable football program that is 2-0 in one of the top conferences in all of College Football. It will be quite interesting to see how this team is able to continue to push along, but Indiana is doing things at a level this school has not seen for generations.
