Indiana football opened the Curt Cignetti era with a win on Saturday by taking care of business against Florida International.
It wasn't a clean performance by any means, but the Hoosiers did what they needed to do to come away with a 31-7 week one victory.
There's plenty of positives to take away from the season opener, but there's also some glaring issues for a new look Indiana team that's going to take some time to figure it all out.
INDIANA DOMINATED ON THE GROUND
Indiana didn't have a single 200-plus-yard rushing performance as a team against an FBS opponent last year.
It took until week 10 of last season for the Hoosiers to score multiple touchdowns on the ground in a game.
On Saturday in the 2024 season opener against FIU, Indiana accomplished both of those feats, rushing for 234 yards and three scores as a team.
It was primarily a two-headed attack for the Hoosiers in the opener, with Ty Son Lawton garnering 16 carries on Saturday, while Justice Ellison carried the ball 10 times.
Both Lawton and Ellison proved to be quite effective on the ground against FIU. Lawton, a JMU transfer, averaged 4.6 yards a carry on his 16 carries and found the end zone twice. Meanwhile, Ellison averaged 6.8 yards per carry on his 10 touches.
They both were able to find consistent and gaping wholes in Florida International's defensive line, a byproduct of the strong run blocking performance from Indiana's offensive line, as well as the tight ends -- specifically Zach Horton.
Despite Lawton and Ellison carrying a majority of the workload in week one, it was Elijah Green that ended the contest as the Hoosiers' leading rusher.
Green registered five carries on Indiana's final two offensive drives once the game was pretty much out of reach. He was responsible for the Hoosiers' longest play from scrimmage on Saturday, a 51-yard scamper to the house to put the final nail in the coffin for Indiana.
All offseason long, Curt Cignetti, offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan and a number of the players raved about the talent, experience and depth in the running back room.
A strong running game is key to a successful offense for the Hoosiers in 2024. Indiana needs more performances on the ground like that as the season pushes on.
THE DEFENSE LOOKED FAST, PHYSICAL ANDÂ RELENTLESS
Aside from one drive late in the first half, Indiana's defense looked great in the opener against FIU.
The Panthers scored on their final drive of the first half, but outside of that were held scoreless and in check by the Hoosiers' stout defense.
Up front, the defensive line managed to get consistent penetration into the backfield. As a team, the Indiana defense tallied eight tackles for loss and four sacks -- numbers seldom reached by the Hoosiers' 2023 defense.
Everyone along the defensive line got involved. Eight different defensive lineman recorded at least one tackle on Saturday, as the Hoosiers' d-line accounted for three of the team's sacks and 5.5 of the team's tackles for loss.
Moving to the linebacker spot, the pair of JMU transfers Aiden Fisher and Jailin Walker, looked like themselves. They both play with great speed and physicality, and they both possess a high football IQ.
Fisher and Walker led Indiana in tackles on Saturday, as they helped out in the running game, dropped back into pass coverage and even -- in the case of Fisher -- supplied pressure to FIU quarterback Keyone Jenkins.
The secondary did their job as well for the Hoosiers, limiting chunk plays for the Panthers in the passing game.
Jenkins converted 20 of his 29 passes attempts, but he did so for just 129 yards. FIU averaged just 6.5 yards per completion, a lot of which can be credited to Indiana's swarming defense in the secondary.
The Hoosiers' secondary also created the lone turnover of the game, an interception by rover Amare Ferrell that was tipped by corner back D'Angelo Ponds.
If Indiana's defense can continue to play fast, physical and relentless all season long, the Hoosiers will have a chance against some of the stronger competition in the Big Ten.
PENALTIES
It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows for Indiana in the opener. The Hoosiers racked up too many penalties and there's some question marks surrounding the offense's big play ability.
For starters, nine penalties in a game that Indiana controlled from the start is simply not good. A majority of those penalties came against the offense and it's something that group is going to have to clean up before the Hoosiers take on some tougher competition.
Cignetti said postgame that it's something the team has continued to work on. With so many new faces, and it being week one of the season, Cignetti isn't too concerned about the penalties just yet.
PASSING GAME UNABLE TO CREATE BIG PLAYS
Indiana collected 180 yards through the air on Saturday and averaged 12 yards per completion. However, the Hoosiers were unable to ever really take the top off of the FIU defense.
72 of Indiana's 180 yards through the air came after the catch. It was a lot of short, underneath throws, screens and RPOs in which the Hoosiers' playmakers on the outside managed to rack up yards after the catch.
That's all fine and well, but as soon as Indiana got behind the chains on Saturday, the Hoosiers didn't pose much of a threat in the deep passing game.
Whether is was a breakdown in pass protection, or the receivers simply weren't getting open, Indiana wasn't able to create any big plays in the passing game.
The Hoosiers' longest pass play of the game came on a broken play with Kurtis Rourke scrambling out of the pocket and throwing up a prayer to Miles Cross -- a prayer in which the wideout answered and then some.
Indiana only registered three passing plays over 15 yards on Saturday. One of which went to a running back out of the backfield and another was the unreplicable catch by Cross.
As the competition picks up, the Hoosiers can't be a one-trick pony in the passing game. The underneath, dink and dunk passing attack is great, but at some point Indiana is going to have to be able to take the top off of opposing defenses.
–––––
Like this content? Join the conversation on TheHoosier.com's premium message boards and subscribe today!
– Follow TheHoosier on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!
– Subscribe to TheHoosier on YouTube for more content
– Interact with fellow fans on TheHoosier's Premium Football Board and Premium Hoops Board
