IU football grades: Hoosiers were pretty good, Western Illinois was really bad

Posted by Admin September 7, 2024 Football

BLOOMINGTON – Indiana football handled Western Illinois as expected Friday night, in a 77-3 victory.

There won’t have been anything particularly special from IU’s performance, given the modest nature of the opposition. Nevertheless, as final pre-conference tune-ups go, this one did the job. IU’s 77 points were the most in program history as the offense amassed a record 701 yards, too.

INSIDER: IU win over human nature another step forward under Curt Cignetti

Here’s how the Hoosiers (2-0) graded out:

OFFENSE

B+

It’s hard to give anything an A, given Western Illinois (0-2) saw its losing streak extended to 26 games Friday night. The Leathernecks were never meant to be anything resembling a challenge for Indiana, beyond the battle Curt Cignetti himself said last week needed to be waged against the human nature toward complacency. But the Hoosiers deserve credit for a clean game, if nothing else. Kurtis Rourke was efficient and effective, finishing with as many incompletions (two) as touchdowns. Both Rourke and Tayven Jackson, as well as three different running backs, scored on the ground. Indiana’s first-team offensive line did not allow a sack, and the only one of IU’s first nine drives that did not end in a touchdown was the one that concluded the first half.

NEWSLETTER: Get IU coverage straight to your inbox

DEFENSE

B+

Same deal. Western Illinois was painfully overmatched from the jump and it showed. But again, points here for effectiveness and efficiency. The Leathernecks only converted one third down through the entire first half, and Indiana finished with six sacks across all four quarters. Western Illinois’ first five offensive drives each lasted just three plays. If anything, Cignetti seemed peeved at the field goal his defense allowed late in the first half, the only points his first team allowed all night.

SPECIAL TEAMS

There’s really not much to grade here. Indiana didn’t ask much of its special teams Friday night, and what was required was clean and uneventful. Point-after attempts were converted. Nobody muffed any punts or kicks. One kickoff bounced out of bounds but it mattered little in the end.

COACHING

Indiana won Cignetti’s battle against human nature emphatically. Crucially, the Hoosiers executed well enough and, quite frankly, scored quickly enough to spread snaps out to second- and third-teamers who needed the work Friday far more than the starters did. For the most part, IU seemed to come out of their Week 2 win healthy, James Bomba’s leg injury the only obvious concern emerging from Friday’s win. There will be tougher and more important games than this one, but Indiana did more than what was required on Friday.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Elijah Sarratt, wide receiver

Allowing for the competitive level, this was the Sarratt that so excited Indiana fans out of the portal. He caught six passes for 137 yards and a touchdown, all from Rourke. His longest was a 71-yard touchdown on a one-play, nine-second drive that finished with the Hoosiers’ third touchdown. After a halting start offensively last week against Florida International, it will have been encouraging to see Rourke connecting so smoothly with some of his top targets, none more so than Sarratt.

PLAY OF THE GAME

There wasn’t one, at least not one substantially more worthy of mention than all others. Western Illinois was never a match for IU in this game, but nights like this — when 123-year-old records fall — don’t come along often, especially for this program. There’s nothing wrong with wearing this one with pride, as a team, before quickly turning the page to next weekend’s crucial trip to UCLA.

Listen to Mind Your Banners, our IU Athletics-centric podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.