Indiana University Football is Blossoming in Bloomington

Yesterday was a terrible day to be a Western Illinois football fan. The Leathernecks came into Bloomington with hopes of upsetting the Indiana Hoosiers. From the moment that the ball was kicked off at the opening whistle, it was crystal clear that their visions of victory in this one were nothing but a mirage.

The cream and crimson were very impressive in their opening game win over Florida International, and in this one they leveled up to downright dominant. When the final seconds ticked off of the game clock, the Hoosiers came away with a whopping 77-3 W. Yes, you read that correctly.

Right from the get go, Indiana made Western Illinois look like a Junior Varsity squad time after time. Through their onslaught, the team cemented itself among the all-time Hoosier football record books. Not only were the 77 points a new all-time program record for a single contest, but the 701 yards of total offense accrued also broke a single game feat.

Kurtis Rourke had the best game of his career to date, finishing 15/17 for 268 yards and 2 touchdowns. After he was relieved early in the second half, his substitute slinger Tayven Jackson completed all 3 of his passing attempts en route to an additional 104 yards and 1 touchdown through the air to go along with a ridiculous touchdown run in the 3rd quarter. The DEEP rushing game was back again with a balanced attack, led by Justice Ellison's team-high 9 carries, 117 yards and 2 touchdowns. One of the more slept on wide receiving corps's in the NCAA had a pair of 100 yard outings (Elijah Sarrat and Omar Cooper, Jr.).

The offense did their thing, but it was the defense that once again stole the show. Western Illinois could get absolutely NOTHING going each and every possession, compiling a mere 111 yards of total offense. Indiana's resistance displayed insane aggressiveness all game long, sacking Nathan Lamb 6 times and snagging 2 interceptions. The opposing QB1 surely had nightmares of the Hoosiers' nonstop blitzing schemes.

We are still very early in the Curt Cignetti era of Indiana University football, but it has taken just 2 games for this program to put the entire NCAA on notice.

Let the renaissance continue. Go Hoosiers!