Indiana football opened up Big Ten play on Saturday night at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena against UCLA.
The Hoosiers led wire-to-wire, dominating the Bruins for four quarters en route to the program's largest road win in a conference game in over two decades.
So far through the first three weeks of the season, Indiana has handled business against everyone in front of them.
KURTIS ROURKE AND THE PASSING ATTACK IS LEGIT
Throughout the first two weeks of the season, Kurtis Rourke and Indiana's passing attack looked solid, not great, but pretty good.
In the season opener, Rourke completed 15 of his 24 passes (63%) for 180 yards and just a singular touchdown. Most of Indiana's offense came on the ground in that week one contest.
The Hoosiers failed to convert on many passes down the field in the opener, falling short of showcasing the dynamic passing attack fans may have hoped for against a team like Florida International.
Week two was a different story, as Rourke went 15-for-17 for 268 yards and two scores through the air, including a 71-yard bomb to Elijah Sarratt. The Hoosiers looked great throwing the ball in that contest, but they were supposed to playing against Western Illinois.
After playing two weaker opponents to begin the season, many weren't sure what to expect when Indiana took the field on Saturday in Pasadena. What Rourke and the Hoosiers did at the Rose Bowl was nothing short of spectacular.
Indiana's sixth-year signal caller completed 76% of his 33 pass attempts for just over 307 yards through the air. He also fired four total passing touchdowns on the evening.
Rourke went 9-for-9 through the air over the weekend on third downs, consistently coming up with big time throws when Indiana needed it the most.
Not only were the stats there for Rourke and the Hoosiers on Saturday, the Ohio transfer simply looked good on the field. No matter what looked the Bruins presented him, Rourke looked comfortable in or outside the pocket, as he carved up the UCLA secondary.
If the Hoosiers can continue to pass the ball like they did in week three, there won't be many Big Ten defenses that will be able to stop them.
DEFENSE FORCING TURNOVERS
After forcing one turnover in the Hoosiers' only other game so far this season against an FBS opponent, Indiana collected two takeaways on Saturday against UCLA.
It took just one play for the Indiana defense to force its first turnover of the night on Saturday.
While the fumble may not have been forced by the Hoosiers, they were there to pounce on the loose football has soon as the pigskin hit ground, giving the offense great field position to go up two scores inside of the first 8 minutes of the game.
Later in the game, rover Amare Ferrell intercepted a pass, appearing to put the final nail in the coffin for Indiana in the win over UCLA.
Through the first quarter of the season, Indiana's defense has looked as advertised. They've been fast, physical and relentless, staying true to the defensive motto, throughout the first three weeks of the year.
Forcing turnovers can often be the difference between defenses being good and defenses being downright impenetrable. So far this season, Indiana's defensive unit has looked like the latter, playing an aggressive and forceful brand of football on that side of the ball.
END OF FIRST HALF STRUGGLES CONTINUE
It was one of Curt Cignetti's biggest sticking points throughout the first couple of weeks of the season. Indiana's defense has looked great so far this year, except for the final defensive drive in each of the first three games of the season.
Through weeks one and two, the only points Indiana's defense had allowed had come on the opposing team's final offensive drive of the first half. Florida International found the end zone late in the second quarter, while Western Illinois settled for its only three points of the game with less than 2 minutes to play in the first half.
Saturday in Pasadena was no different. The Hoosiers defense had recovered a fumble, forced a long field goal attempt that was missed and forced a three-and-out to start the game.
Then, it came time for the Bruins' final offensive possession of the opening half. UCLA marched 78 yards down the field on nine plays, finding the end zone for the lone time over the weekend with less than 60 seconds to play in the first half of the week three contest.
Much of the struggles to close halves defensively can likely be attributed to mental lapses as the teams perhaps looks ahead to the second half of games.
So far this season, that's hasn't come back to bite Indiana, but as Big Ten play picks back up in a couple weeks time, the Hoosiers likely won't be able to afford to continue their defensive lapses late in the first halves of games.
HAS INDIANA PUT THE REST OF THE BIG TEN ON NOTICE?
Indiana was favored heading into the Rose Bowl, however, that doesn't take away from the beatdown the Hoosiers delivered the Bruins on Saturday night.
While many may have expected Indiana to win the week three matchup, not many thought the Hoosiers would do so in such convincing fashion. Welcoming one of the conferences' newcomers to the Big Ten like that on a national stage, has surely raised the eyebrows of a handful of other teams around the conference.
While teams like Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State may not be paying any attention to the change going on in Bloomington, those around the rest of the conference and even around the country are beginning to take note.
Playing that well and dominating the way the Hoosiers did on Saturday night will, as Cignetti put it, open some eyes around the college football scene.
ESPN's matchup predictor even as Indiana favored over Michigan when the two teams meet later this season.
It's now up to the Hoosiers to continue to translate this positive momentum into positive results on the field.
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