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IU Football Crushed Western Illinois in Record-Breaking Fashion

Vaseline September 7, 2024

IU set a new program record for points (77), as well as one for total yards (701).

BLOOMINGTON – Curt Cignetti wasted no words this week, describing Friday’s visit from Western Illinois during his radio broadcast as a battle against human nature.

The Leathernecks had lost 25 games in a row and were on the verge of making it 26. In some bookies, the line — which was more than 42 points in Indiana’s favor — was the highest anyone could find in modern program history. The implication: IU had no business here.

The only way Indiana could exceed expectations in the most winnable game an all-too-often losing program has seen in years was to do exactly what the Hoosiers did, and for that they earned the praise from their coach, which is rarely given lightly.

IU football figures: Hoosiers were pretty good, Western Illinois was really bad

“It was a good night,” Cignetti said. “I was happy that our team played with an edge and an attitude, at a high level. The (starters), that’s what I’m talking about. They didn’t play down to the competition.”

Friday’s 77-3 victory set a new program record for points, as well as for total yards (701). Only once, in 1901, have the Hoosiers won a game by a larger margin. The only drive in Indiana’s first 10 that didn’t end in the end zone was the last of the first half, when the Hoosiers (2-0) intentionally ran out the clock.

This was the game IU bought out of its three-year series with Louisville to add to, and the Hoosiers got everything they wanted out of it: a comfortable home win, a step closer to a bowl spot and some final preparation for next weekend’s trip to UCLA, arguably one of the most important games of the season.

As impressive as it was — three quarterbacks combined for 378 yards and three scores, six Hoosiers rushed for touchdowns, IU recorded six sacks and returned an interception for a score — there won’t be much left of the broader sport on Friday night, aside from the final score.

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But a head coach who does everything he can to instill in his players the value of self-confidence, clean football and consistent, successful execution will see this as a worthwhile day’s work.

Momentum and belief aren’t everything, but they are important in college football. A program that has won just three Big Ten games in the past three seasons needs some juice, and from day one, Cignetti has been pumping it as hard as he can.

Perhaps it will be even more encouraging to Cignetti that this performance followed a positive week. Tuesday’s practice, he said, was not optimal and he let the team know when it ended. From there, he said, the Hoosiers built and built, leading to a record-breaking Friday night.

After the imperfections of the Week 1 win against Florida International (and, apparently, a little wake-up call during practice), Indiana’s coach got what he asked for.

“We threw the ball well, caught the ball well, protected well. We wanted to clean up those penalties, protect better than we did last week,” he said. “I thought every day built on the last. Tuesday wasn’t a great day. I talked to the team afterward about it. I don’t talk to the team after every practice, most of them, but I had something to say and I had an engaged crowd.

“They went out and brought it in.”

After the match, players reached by the media said they wanted more and that the battle against complacency was endless.

Mikail Kamara (two sacks, one QB hit) suggested that even allowing a field goal didn’t live up to expectations. Elijah Sarratt, who had his first 100-yard receiving game as a Hoosier and caught his first touchdown in cream and crimson, spoke as a man familiar with these kinds of victories from his season with Cignetti at James Madison.

Both players, in fact, played for Cignetti at JMU. Both were part of that culture and the success it fostered in Harrisonburg, and both followed Cignetti to Bloomington with the belief that he would do the same here.

There was probably no better confirmation of the value of Friday’s game than two players familiar with their head coach’s methods. Both were happy to see the positives of Friday night’s win, but both were adamant that this is far from the end.

There will be bigger tests coming, starting in just eight days, and the Hoosiers believe they are ready. That should count as meaningful progress for Cignetti, which should be more than enough to take from tonight.

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