Mind Your Banners: Curt Cignetti raising expectations for IU football
IU Insiders Zach Osterman (IndyStar) and Mike Niziolek (Herald-Times) break down the Hoosiers’ 52-14 win over Charlotte on Saturday to remain unbeaten.
(This story has been updated to change or add a photo or video.)
BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football showed no signs of slowing down on Saturday.
The Hoosiers improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2020 with a 52-14 win over Charlotte. The offense continued to look unstoppable as the team set a program record for most points scored in a four-game stretch. It was also the first time since 2019 the offense had more than 400 yards of total offense in four straight games.
Indiana’s defense had a pedestrian effort stopping the run (see below), but the 49ers had little hopes of a comeback once they fell behind by multiple scores with third-string quarterback Trexler Ivey under center thanks to a series of injuries.
IU grades vs. Charlotte: Kurtis Rourke remains sharp, as Hoosiers offense hums
More: Why Curt Cignetti is on the warpath against the ‘warm fuzzies’
Here’s three observations from IU’s Week 4 performance:
Last week, Rourke was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, the first IU quarterback to earn the honor since 2015 (Nate Sudfeld), was one of the Manning Award Stars of the Week and Davey O’Brien Award Dave’s 8.
He might earn some additional recognition in the coming days.
Rourke picked apart Charlotte’s secondary with ease on Saturday — he threw for 258 yards (16 of 20) with two total touchdowns. He was 4 of 5 on throws of 15 yards or more that included a pair of perfectly placed deep completions to Myles Price for gains of 37- and 39-yards. His final line might have been more impressive considering he did it all in just three quarters.
He also made plays with his legs on the rare occasion Charlotte did good coverage down field and scrambled up the middle in the second quarter for a 12-yard score.
Rourke put the veteran savvy that Curt Cignetti praised earlier in the week on display on a play that won’t show up in the box score.
With the Hoosiers facing a 3rd-and-long in the red zone, he rolled out of the pocket to give himself some extra time and threw the ball to Zach Horton when he saw the tight end get tangled up by a defender right in front of an official. The ref immediately threw a flag for pass interference and IU punched it in on the next snap.
Charlotte came into Saturday’s game with a rushing offense that was ranked No. 130 out of 134 FBS teams. The 49ers were averaging just 2.4 yards per carry through the first three games, but somehow found another gear on Saturday.
They had a 33-yard end-around in the first half — the first run of 30 or more yards the Hoosiers allowed this season — and scored on 3rd-and-goal from the 13-yard line by running the ball right up the middle.
Charlotte closed out the first half averaging 5.1 yards per carry and more yards (82) than they had in the past two games combined (62).
That success helped the 49ers go 5 of 8 on third downs in the half since they needed four yards or less on half of those attempts. They had more third-down conversions in the first half than IU had allowed in a single game this season.
It’s why Charlotte made it a one-possession game at 17-14 with 5:19 left in the first half.
Indiana emptied the bench in the fourth quarter, but when there were some key moments when the game was still competitive that players had an impact off the bench.
Running back Kaelon Black had six carries for 50 yards and a touchdown. He showed off some impressive explosiveness on a 21-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. He’s taken a back seat in the wake of Justice Ellison’s and Ty Son Lawton’s success, but he’s a pretty talented player to be third on the depth chart.
Tight end Sam West has received a bit more playing time with James Bomba injured and set up a touchdown with a 37-yard catch (the first of his career) in the second quarter. Bomba was the team’s primary backup tight end through the first two weeks of the season, but suffered an injury against Western Illinois.
The other key reserve for the Hoosiers on Saturday was Jamari Sharpe. He got the start in place of D’Angelo Ponds, who served a targeting suspension in the first half. Sharpe had a prominent spot in IU’s rotation last year, but didn’t get many defensive snaps through the first three games.
Sharpe didn’t let the reduced role impact his play and he had a pair of pass breakups on Saturday with both of them coming on third down.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
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