After a week full of national attention, Curt Cignetti and his Indiana Hoosiers took care of business in their final non-conference game Saturday afternoon, defeating Charolette 52-14.
The Hoosiers out-gained the 49ers 510-256 en route to their third home victory in as many tries.
Indiana now sits at 4-0 for the first time since the 2020 season and just the eighth time in program history.
Here's how it happened:
OFFENSE PICKS UP RIGHT WHERE IT LEFT OFF
If there was any doubt that Indiana would have a letdown game offensively, Kurtis Rourke and the offense put that to rest almost immediately on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
After scoring 42 points in Pasadena, Indiana added another 52 points, bringing their season average to 53.2 points-per-game through four games.
The offense scored on all five of the first half possessions, four being touchdown drives.
Rourke threw for 257 yards and was once again crisp, completing 80% of his passes. The Hoosier signal caller was one of five different Hoosiers with rushing touchdown, scrambling for twelve yards into the end zone late in the first half.
The ground game once again was strong for Indiana, collecting 201 yards. Justice Ellison led the way with 58 yards and a score.
DEFENSE ALLOWS A SEASON HIGH IN POINTS IN THE FIRST HALF, BUT REGROUPS IN SECOND
After a strong showing on the first two drives of the afternoon, Indiana's defense began to struggle in the middle portion of the first half.
Charlotte's got into a grove late in the first quarter and broke the seal with a nine play, 75-yard touchdown drive. It was the first time this season that Indiana's defense conceded a touchdown that was not the final drive of the first half.
After Indiana's quick response, the 49ers drove right down the field again for another score in just over four minutes.
A lot of the struggles came in the secondary in the first half were mostly due to D'Angelo Ponds serving a one-half suspension because of a targeting ejection in last week's victory.
Once Ponds was re-inserted back onto the field, the Hoosier secondary looked like a cohesive unit, allowing zero points in the second half for third game this season.
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