‘Find ways to win games’: It doesn’t have to be pretty — and Saturday wasn’t — but Indiana football keeps winning and that’s all that matters

‘Just find a way to win’. That’s the saying for most teams around the country, especially deep into the season. But, not every team gets the result they actually want. Only great teams can squeeze out wins when they don’t play their best. On Saturday, Indiana football did just that in its 31-17 win over Washington.

It was another sellout crowd and the host of College GameDay. A true example of just how far Indiana has come, but also how great — not good — this team is.

Without Kurtis Rourke under center, there were questions as to how crisp Indiana would look, and how effective it would be with Tayven Jackson as the signal caller. While it wasn’t always pretty, Indiana did what great teams do — find a way to win.

“Good win,” Curt Cignetti said after the game. “There are no bad wins. I thought it was really gutty finding a way to win.”

Finding a way to win was on display all afternoon and began quite early in the game. After two quick 3-and-outs for both teams, Washington began to slowly move the ball down the field — putting IU’s stat of zero first quarter points given up and no time trailing in any game this season, at risk.

Then, it was a pick-6 from IU’s D’Angelo Ponds that set the tone and woke up the roaring crowd.

But, as expected, Washington wasn’t going to go down without a fight — especially off of its bye week. The Huskies kept it close, very close. It was just 17-14 early in the second half following a touchdown on its first possession. That followed an interception from Indiana on the first play from scrimmage after halftime.

“We weren’t playing very well,” Cignetti said. “We just weren’t executing.”

As Indiana football has done all season, however, it responded. It was a 14-play and 75-yard touchdown drive that spanned 7:42 that seemed to flip all the momentum back in IU’s favor.

Tayven Jackson — who was making his first start of the season — had his moments. He had moments where he clearly looked a bit anxious, but he did what he had to in order for the Hoosiers to come away with a win.

Jackson finished 11-of-19 for 124 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also added one touchdown on the ground as well — the final score of the game.

It was Justice Ellison who paced IU all day, rushing for 123 yards on 29 carries and one touchdown.

And at the end of the day, Indiana football is now 8-0 and continues to be a real threat around the country.

“I mean, you are what your record says you are,” Cignetti said. “Believe me, we’re going to put that tape on, and it ain’t going to be real pretty a lot of times on offense and it won’t be on defense, either. There will be a lot of mistakes out there.

“But not off to a bad start, I guess.”

The eight-game winning streak that IU is currently on is the longest streak in program history, tied with the 1945 and 1967 seasons. It is the longest streak to start a season since 1967.

“It means everything,” IU center Mike Katic said. “I love this place with my whole heart, and I’m so grateful for everyone in this program that has helped me get to where I am. I’m so proud of this team and these coaches for everything and breaking through and getting Indiana football back on top.”

‘Getting Indiana football back on top’ is a statement that rings true this year. After nine wins over the last three seasons before 2024 — IU is one win away from tying that mark in a nine week span.

The Hoosiers — by the metrics — are clearly one of the best teams in the country. They also pass the eye test. And, again on Saturday, they just found a way to win. Only great teams consistently do that.

“I told the team after the game, I said, ‘really good teams, championship teams, they find ways to win games’, and that’s what we did today,” Cignetti said. “We found ways to win a game.

“I think this is a close team with a lot of competitive character, guys that really want to be good, have the right stuff, and they found a way to win.”

So, how will continue to prove doubters wrong?

“I think we go out there and win,” Mikail Kamara said. “We just got to keep staying focused. We can’t let the clutter get in the way of anything. We just got to keep on going every single day.”

SEE ALSO: ‘Every week we’re going to win no matter what’: Magical season for Indiana football continues as team defeats Washington, 31-17

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