FOOTBALL

Another week. Another dominant win. And IU football is ‘not surprised at all’ regardless of the national perspective or any doubters that remain

IU football continues to do what it has all season — win. And, it comes as no surprise to the players and coaches around the program.

Published

2 days ago

October 20, 2024

Alec Lasley

IU football continues to do what it has all season -- win. And, it comes as no surprise to the players and coaches around the program. (Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

It’s becoming increasingly evident that IU football is about as legit a team in the country as any, and Saturday’s dominant 56-7 win over Nebraska continues to put an exclamation point on what has been a record breaking, record setting and program altering year for the Hoosiers.

It was Homecoming. It was a sellout crowd. It was the perfect environment for Indiana — and it responded in a major way. But, was it a statement win that so many people outside of the program were looking for? Who knows. But for the players inside the locker room, it was just another win over a team on their schedule.

“I feel like outside looking in it’s a statement win,” IU defensive back D’Angelo Ponds said. “But the guys in here know what we are supposed to do. We are not surprised at all. So, not really.”

Indiana’s win brings the program to 7-0. It’s the sixth-straight game IU has scored 40+ points and the seventh-straight game with a double-digit win — both program records. It’s the dominant manner in which Indiana is winning that is eye opening.

On the season, IU football is now outscoring opponents 341-96. And, Indiana is the only team in the FBS that has yet to surrender any first quarter points.

“We just play every stop,” IU linebacker Jailin Walker said. “If we’re up by 50, 100 or we’re down, we will play every stop like usual: real, physical and fast. We play the game like it’s 0-0, no matter what the score is.”

“It’s always good to be humble and to respect your opponents. They come in and put their pads on just like us,” Running back Justice Ellison added. “But when it comes to the game, you want to be able to dominate no matter who you play.”

That’s the tone that has been set at the top from Curt Cignetti and the rest of coaching staff. It’s not only starting fast but finishing — two points of emphasis from the staff all season long. That’s translated into an 80-0 advantage in the first quarter and a 94-17 advantage in the fourth quarter.

“I have to be focused, locked in, learning and have a great attitude rub off on other people positively as a teammate, okay? An hour from now is a concept. Tomorrow is a concept. All there is is the here and now,” Cignetti said. ” … It’s a veteran team with the right kind of guys. Got a good staff. It all starts at the top. I’m not going to let them get complacent, or the coaches either. I was a maniac in the fourth quarter of this game, a maniac. But we responded.”

Questions about how IU football would respond after its bye week were clearly answered. There is no complacency inside the program, that’s clear.

But — like there always are — there will still be some doubters out there due to the ‘lack of difficulty’ when it comes to their schedule. Well, IU isn’t worried about anything other than the next opponent and doing what they’ve done all year — win.

“We are going to play anybody on the schedule, and we are going to try and win games,” Defensive back Shawn Asbury said. “It doesn’t matter about statement wins, who it is, who our opponent is. We are just going to go out and try to get a win every week.”

“We don’t care about that. We will play whoever they put out there for us,” Wide receiver Miles Cross added. “Whoever they put out there, we will be ready to play. That’s all that matters to us.”

The win on Saturday was done in front of a crowd that was the largest inside Memorial Stadium since 1979.

And while it’s another moment to celebrate and continue to sit in all of the rave reviews about the ‘new Indiana’, Cignetti won’t allow that to change his process.

“Got a lot of experience on this football team. Enjoy tonight,” Cignetti said. “We’re the same guys that we were this morning when we woke up, right? We just kind of overcame another challenge.”

“I think this says a lot about our team. I know there was a national perception that Nebraska had a pretty legit defense on a national scale. So that will open their eyes, okay?”