Indiana stands 5-0 in football for the first time since 1967, the most recent time the program shared a Big Ten title, and a No. 23 ranking now flanks the Hoosiers’ name.
“This is a team that’s a little bit on a mission,” first-year Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said, “and Northwestern’s the next one up.”
Indeed, the Hoosiers (2-0 Big Ten) will be eager to stay on a roll when they visit the Wildcats (2-2, 0-1) in Evanston, Ill., on Saturday afternoon. Indiana also hopes to avoid the struggles with ball control that slowed the team early in last week’s 42-28 home win against Maryland.
Turnovers ended three of the first five Indiana drives before the Hoosiers found their stride. The team then scored touchdowns on four successive possessions bridging the first and second halves.
Kurtis Rourke, who has steered the offense to 244 points through five games, averaged 16.3 yards on 22 completions against Maryland, throwing for 359 yards. He had three touchdown passes and two interceptions.
“Nobody had any kind of doubt he would bounce back,” Cignetti said.
Speaking of certainties, Cignetti affirmed his confidence in the team’s ability to race to a fast start — and sustain it.
“I’m not surprised,” he said. “I pretty much told everybody when I was hired this is what was possible.”
Idle last week, Northwestern is aiming to regroup from a 24-5 loss at Washington on Sept. 21 in the Huskies’ Big Ten debut.
The Wildcats sputtered offensively, gaining just 112 yards, while quarterback Jack Lausch threw two interceptions and was sacked twice.
Playing without injured leading rusher Cam Porter (lower body), Northwestern collected just 59 yards on the ground. The team had a turnover on downs after four attempts from the Washington 1-yard line early in the fourth quarter.
Wildcats coach David Braun said Porter is “trending in the right direction” for a return against Indiana.
“If there’s anyone that’s going to work their tails off to make sure they’re back, it’s Cam Porter,” the coach said.
A healthy Porter would help, to be sure, but the Wildcats realize they’ll need to be sharp on the ground and across the board to keep pace with the Hoosiers.
“It’s a hot football team right now,” Braun said. “They’re playing really confident, playing really well, off to a 5-0 start. No weaknesses on this team. Played really well in all three phases. … (There’s) an incredible opportunity, incredible challenge in front of us.”
Northwestern will look to contain the Indiana wide receiver duo of Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr., both of whom caught a TD pass against Maryland. Sarratt led the team with seven receptions for 128 yards.
“He’s just consistent. He’s just always gonna be reliable,” Rourke said. “It’s why I like throwing to him so much. He’s reliable. He’s always gonna be there, and he’s someone that I can trust and that’s gonna make a play.”
Northwestern leads the all-time series with Indiana 47-35-1, including victories in five of the past six meetings.
–Field Level Media