Head coach Curt Cignetti has said it.
On Saturday night at the Rose Bowl, the 3-0 Hoosiers proved.
Their 42-13 Big Ten opening victory over UCLA (1-1) showed, if you didn’t already know it, that this is a different Hoosier team, a decisive team, a confident, well-coached team that, despite far too many penalties (14 for 127 yards) and a third-straight late-first-half defensive letdown, is poised for something special.
“That’s the way we want to play,” Cignetti told Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer during the post-game radio show. “We got the job done. Am I surprised? No. I saw progress before the season. This is another step forward.
“It’s a good win. It will get a lot of people’s attention. We have to learn how to deal with success. It’s a lot better than dealing with failure. It takes some tools to have more success in the future.”
This is why Cignetti took the IU job after enormous success at smaller programs. He’s built a winning culture and his players, a mix of college transfers, returning veterans and freshmen, have bought in.
“We all want to win,” quarterback Kurtis Rourke said in a post-game TV interview. “We’ve bought into that culture — win every game.
“I don’t want us to get complacent. Keep rolling.”
Rourke displayed elite accuracy, ruthlessly efficient run-pass-option play and crisp decision making to match that of the offensive play calling. He was 25-of-33 for 307 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. He was 7-for-7 on third downs in the first half.
“That’s not a bad night,” Cignetti told Fischer. “You have to have great protection for that to happen. It’s receivers getting separation and catching the ball, sometimes making great catches. That’s we had.”
This was why Cignetti signed Rourke after his standout career at Ohio University that included being the Mid-American Conference 2022 offensive player of the year.
“If we can protect (Rourke) and the receivers can separate,” Cignetti told Fischer, “he will find them. He has great poise and touch on the ball. He can drive it. He’s played a lot of quarterback.
“It takes a village — all 11 of them.”
Receive Miles Cross caught six passes for 90 yards and a touchdown. He was one of six receivers who caught at least three passes.
IU had a 430-238 edge in total yards and converted nine of 12 third-down opportunities. On the season, IU has forced six turnovers and committed none.
The Hoosiers weren’t perfect. Besides the penalties, their end-of-the-first-half defensive struggles continued. After defensively dominating the first 27 minutes, they gave up a 78-play touchdown drive. Still, they reached halftime with a 21-7 lead while setting an attack tone UCLA never matched.
“That was the goal,” Cignetti told Fischer. “We wanted to go out there with a mean, nasty, physical edge. We did. Sometimes you look at those penalties and it’s like they don’t let you play football anymore. I’ll have to look at the film.”
A couple of IU offensive penalties on the game’s opening drive?
No problem.
Rourke ended the 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive with a third-yard pass to Cross and a 7-0 lead. The Hoosiers were 3-for-3 on third-down conversions.
IU got the ball right back when defensive lineman Mikail Kamara recovered a fumble on the Bruins’ first offensive play. Rourke’s 7-yard TD pass to receiver Ke’Shawn Williams made it 14-0 midway through the first quarter.
UCLA missed a field goal. Justice Ellison‘s 1-yard power run TD made it 21-0 before the Bruins ended the half with a touchdown run.
Cignetti’s halftime message was simple – one play at a time, get it done. Stop UCLA on its second-half-opening drive, then score.
IU lost defensive lineman CJ West to a targeting call within the first minute of the third quarter. Linebacker Aiden Fisher dropped a red-zone interception a few plays later. The Bruins got a field goal for a 21-10 score.
The Hoosiers lost cornerback D’Angelo Ponds to targeting early in the fourth quarter. UCLA got a field goal for a 28-13 edge. IU countered with Rourke’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Omar Cooper Jr. for a 35-13 lead.
Defensive lineman Lanell Carr Jr.‘s quarterback pressure set up defensive back Amare Ferrell‘s interception. That resulted in Elijah Green‘s 14-yard touchdown run and the 42-13 score.
“We took it to them,” Cignetti told Fischer. “We did a lot of good things. We have some things we have to clean up.”
