‘Breaking their will’ and ‘Picked them apart’ — The rushing attack of Indiana football set early tone against FIU, showing great promise moving forward

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The Indiana football program had numerous questions about what the offense would look like this season under its new coaching staff and in Saturday’s 31-7 win, one part was clear — the rushing attack is going to be extremely valuable for this offense all season long.

Coming into the season, a lot of the discussion was about the deep and talented wide receiving unit that Indiana would put on the field. While there were players who shined in that group in the season-opening win, it was the entire running back room that stood out.

Indiana brought in four new running backs through the transfer portal this offseason and all four made an impact against Florida International, leading to 234 yards on the ground as a team. It was the most by an Indiana football backfield since 257 against Michigan State in 2022.

So, for Curt Cignetti and running backs coach John Miller, Saturday was an important first step in the development and growth of the room.

“We had some real nice chunks in the run game, and most of the pressure I saw was coming off the edge in the pass game,” Cignetti said. “So, you know, we would get the run game going in the second half in chunks, chunks, chunks, kind of breaking their will. Then we’d throw it, you know, and go backwards. Those guys are capable. We’re going to be okay there.”

It was Ty Son Lawton who got the Indiana football running game off to a great start. He finished with 16 carries for 74 yards and two touchdowns. His touchdowns came on a 15-yarder in the first quarter and a two-yard score in the second quarter.

When Lawton needed a blow, it was Justice Ellison who turned in 10 carries for 68 yards. He had five carries that went for at least nine yards.

They combined for 26 of the team’s 40 carries.

It was the offensive line that helped the running back unit set the tone on Saturday and really take control of the game.

“Offensive line did an amazing job today. Shout out to the all five of them,” Lawton said. “Even when Kurtis (Rourke) pulled it, the holes were still wide open. So just shout out to the O-Line.”

While Lawton and Ellison carried the bulk of the load, Kaelon Black and Elijah Green also saw snaps. While Black had just one carry, Green ended up with a team-high 82 yards on just five carries. It was highlighted by a 51-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Indiana’s backs combined for a 6.6 yard-per-carry average.

“When Coach Cignetti was at James Madison, he would always have three-back rotations,” Lawton said. “So I’m used to this by now.”

Offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan, Cignetti and Miller are all in favor of a multi-back system. It keeps legs fresh, brings versatility to the room and also keeps the defense on their toes at all times.

While the rushing attack was clearly the backbone of the offensive success on Saturday — there’s always room for improvement. Something, Cignetti wants to see moving forward.

“There was some nice creases and some nice cuts, nice chunks, and now we gotta take the next step,” Cignetti said. “With a little bit better down-field blocking or breaking a tackle here and there, those 12- and 13-yard gains become 25 and 30 and 40. I was really impressed with Elijah Green that last play. I mean, he broke through with a 2-0 line and showed speed and burst, and they couldn’t catch him.”

Indiana’s offense totaled 414 yards and averaged 6.4 yards per play — but it was the ‘big plays’ that came from the rushing attack. Indiana football’s running back group had nine runs of at least 10 yards, compared to three passes of 15+ yards.

Indiana clearly leaned on the rushing attack and while the passing game needs to improve, it’s also a bit of a catch-22. It’s game one against a non-power four opponent. You likely aren’t going to show everything in the playbook. Also, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

“We have a deep playbook, I would say. Obviously we didn’t show everything, but we took our shots when we felt like we needed to,” IU tight end Zach Horton said. “We were doing very well in the run game, so we continued to pound the ball and keep doing what we were doing. 

“I feel like we were picking out what plays we wanted. We saw what they were doing, and adjusted to that and picked them apart.”

SEE ALSO: Despite a season opening win, Curt Cignetti wants Indiana football to ‘learn to play with a lead’ going forward

Make sure to follow Hoosier Illustrated, part of the Full Ride Network, on Twitter @Indiana_FRN, Facebook and YouTube to stay up to date on all of the news, updates and coverage of Indiana University athletics. You can also listen to the Talking’ Bout the Hoosiers podcast on Spotify.

Looking for a place to get more Indiana content? Hoosier Illustrated has partnered with Tom Brady’s company ‘Autograph’ to streamline our coverage, so you can continue to do what you do best – follow IU sports. Use the CODE: Indianafr to get started today. For more info, you can start here.