Indiana’s first quarter against Western Kentucky looked a lot like a warning sign on the scoreboard and not much else.
At home in Bloomington, the Hoosiers and Hilltoppers were deadlocked at 0-0 after one period, with Indiana stuck inside its own 15 and trailing Western Kentucky in total offense, 54 yards to 77. The Hoosiers also had the ball for just 5:02 in the opening quarter, and it was the first time Indiana had been held scoreless in the first quarter at home since Maryland visited on Sept. 28, 2024.
Then the game flipped hard.
Indiana rolled to a 38-0 win Saturday, using the final three quarters to put the thing away and extend a defensive run that had not been seen at the program since 1993, when the Hoosiers last held opponents scoreless in back-to-back games.
Curt Cignetti said Western Kentucky “well” early, but he liked how his team settled in after halftime.
“I just talked to them and I was like, ‘Hey let’s play our game, let’s relax,” Cignetti said. “We still made some mistakes in the second half ... but you know we still made progress.”
The offense never looked completely clean, even with the blowout score. Redshirt senior quarterback Josh Hoover finished 18 of 24 for 273 yards and two touchdowns, and Indiana’s offensive line kept him upright without allowing a quarterback hurry. Still, Hoover left a few throws on the field, missing open receivers at times and leaving room for more in the passing game.
With conference play opening Sept. 25 against Northwestern, Hoover said the accuracy has to sharpen.
“There were a couple of throws I missed,” Hoover said. “For me, it’s a process of trying to be accurate.
I know I'm an accurate guy. I know I’m going to make those adjustments on third down to prolong drives.”
One of the bigger missed chances came midway through the second quarter with Indiana already up 7-0. On third-and-5, Hoover threw behind graduate student wide receiver Shazz Preston. Cignetti burned a timeout and sent the offense back out on fourth down, where Hoover had junior wide receiver Nick Marsh open but could not quite connect.
“I would love to have that fourth down back,” Hoover said. “It was a vertical I threw off Nick’s fingertip. I thought I could have put it out a foot further and could’ve had a chance to score.”
Indiana’s defense answered almost immediately. Redshirt senior linebacker Isaiah Jones stepped in front of a Western Kentucky throw for his first interception of the season, then brought it all the way back to the Hilltoppers’ 3-yard line. Two snaps later, redshirt senior Lee Beebe Jr. finished the short field with a rushing touchdown to make it 14-0.
Jones, who wears the green dot as the middle linebacker and serves as the defense’s on-field organizer, still saw plenty to clean up.
“We didn’t play to our standard,” Jones said. “We didn’t get off the field on third down.
That can give an offense going to an opposing place life and energy. We had a few missed assignments, but I love how the team responded.”
The biggest defensive stand came much earlier, though. After redshirt senior kicker Paddy McAteer missed from 54 yards, Western Kentucky pushed the ball inside Indiana’s 10. The Hilltoppers went for it on fourth-and-goal, and the Hoosiers turned them away with a pass breakup.
Jones said the defense “took it personal” when Western Kentucky stayed aggressive.
“We didn’t want to let them get points on the board fast,” Jones said. “We just stood up and didn’t let them get in ... we don’t want anyone in our endzone.”
Indiana’s run game followed the same pattern as the rest of the night: quiet early, then loud later. The Hoosiers managed only 55 rushing yards on 16 carries in the first half but finished with 233 on the ground. Junior running back Turbo Richard led the way with 15 carries for 149 yards and a touchdown.
Richard said the offense adjusted to what Western Kentucky was showing.
“We showed that our team is going to play hard,” Richard said. “In the second half, we ran more play-action before going to the run plays.”
Junior wide receiver Charlie Becker, who caught a 79-yard touchdown in the third quarter, said the Hoosiers need to get off to a quicker start.
“We came out slow, slower than what we wanted to,” Becker said. “But we’ll watch the film and get better.”
Indiana has already lived through messy stretches before. Last season’s championship run included hard-fought games at Iowa and Penn State, and the Hoosiers emerged from those tests stronger.
Western Kentucky is not Iowa or Penn State, but the slow start Saturday did not define the day. The response did.
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