Indiana gets one more non-conference run-out Saturday before the Big Ten grind begins, and the Hoosiers will do it against a Western Kentucky team that has made this series far more interesting than the records suggest.
No. 4 Indiana (2-0) hosts the Hilltoppers (0-2) in Bloomington on Saturday, Sept. 19, at 4 p.m.
ET. The game will air on Peacock/NBCSN with Dan Hicks, Yogi Roth and Caroline Pineda on the call, and the IU Radio Network will carry it with Don Fischer and Buck Suhr.
Indiana leads the all-time series 5-0, including a 33-30 overtime win in 2022, and this will be the sixth meeting between the schools.
The Hoosiers arrive after a dominant 55-0 win over Howard. Josh Hoover was efficient and explosive in that one, throwing four touchdown passes on six completions, while Turbo Richard and Lee Beebe both topped 100 rushing yards. Indiana’s defense was just as overwhelming, finishing with 12 tackles for loss and five sacks.
Western Kentucky comes in after getting rolled 70-20 at Georgia last weekend. The Hilltoppers have dropped both of their first two games, and they also suffered a blowout loss to Nevada earlier in the season.
Even with Indiana holding the 5-0 edge, the matchup has tended to be tighter than the record implies. That has been the case across different IU coaching staffs, with Western Kentucky often showing enough offense to make the Hoosiers work.
Cignetti pointed to the Hilltoppers’ early struggles and said Indiana’s job is to keep applying pressure. "(They) got off to a rough start against Nevada, then had to go down to Georgia.
Quarterback returns. The wide receivers early in the game against Georgia did a nice job of separating," Cignetti said on Monday.
"But they've struggled obviously in their first two games. The goal is to continue to make 'em struggle defensively.
Have given up some points. 280 yards rushing a game."
Indiana’s offense should have plenty of room to operate again, and the running game could have a chance to push past 300 yards for the first time this season. Still, the bigger picture for the Hoosiers is about getting sharper before conference play opens next week.
"It's always about preparation for the opponent. It's still this week more about us and tightening some things up, and in some ways we're still learning about what we can do best before we go to Big Ten play." Cignetti said.
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