Indiana football rolled to a 41-28 victory over Maryland on Saturday, but the real story of the afternoon wasn't necessarily what happened on the field, it was what happened off of it.
The Hoosier faithful packed Memorial Stadium on Saturday, leading to one of the most energetic and raucous environments in Bloomington in recent memory.
In front of an announced crowd of 48,323 -- the largest crowd for an Indiana football home game since the season opener versus Ohio State last season -- the Hoosiers put on a show for those in attendance, feeding off the energy from the home crowd.
"They were awesome today," interior defensive lineman James Carpenter said postgame. "It was loud in there, they were on their feet, and they stayed. It was an unbelievable environment. They really helped us out today."
From the opening kickoff to the final whistle, the energy inside of "The Rock" appeared to fuel the Hoosiers in each big moment of the game.
After quarterback Kurtis Rourke threw interceptions on back-to-back possessions to start the game, the crowd, as well as Indiana's defense, was their to pick Rourke and the offense up.
"It was fantastic," Rourke said on the fan turnout inside of Memorial Stadium on Saturday. "We appreciate everybody that came out and we look forward to many more turnouts like this."
Where the crowd's impact was perhaps felt the most was on third and fourth down situations for the Maryland offense.
The Terrapins went 5-for-13 on third downs on Saturday and 0-for-3 on fourth downs. Two of Indiana's five sacks during the week five contest came on third downs, sending the crowd inside of Memorial Stadium into a further frenzy.
"The fans really made it a great atmosphere for us," linebacker Aiden Fisher said. "I guess [the students] got Coach [Cignetti's] email. That was big, getting them here and packing the Rock... it was huge today. You could feel them on every big third down or every big fourth down."
It's difficult to quantify the impact the Hoosier faithful had on Saturday's clash with the Terrapins.
After all, the Indiana supporters didn't rush for a touchdown, or come up with a big sack on third down to get off the field. Nonetheless, the energy created inside of Memorial Stadium during Saturday's rain-filled contest with Maryland was infectious for the Hoosiers.
"It's extremely valuable," Cignetti said on the fans. "Players feed off of that energy. Look, it's all about energy, right? You've got to have energy to do anything, and the fans are supplying the energy and the players are feeding off of that energy. I don't know how many points it's work, but it's really important."
The additional interest in Indiana is all part of head coach Curt Cignetti's plan to try and turn the football program around. Despite playing in front of the biggest crowd of the season, the Hoosiers' head coach -- in true Cignetti fashion -- is asking for more.
"You could feel the fans out there," Cignetti said. "I'm glad that they keep improving in the attendance area. I thought it was a good turnout, and good is the enemy of great, so let's have a great turnout."
"Let's sell it out next time we're at home," Cignetti continued, "and figure out how to make it even louder because that's that we want to do; we want to be the best in everything we do."
Indiana is off to its best start to a season since 1967. Despite that, Cignetti knows there's still plenty left for his team to prove in order to continue to get fans in the stands.
If the Hoosiers want to continue to fill up the bleachers at Memorial Stadium, it starts with continuing to win games on the field.
"We are what we are," Cignetti said. "We have a blueprint and a plan and a philosophy of how to play the game. I think we've got a chance to be a good football team... you've got to prove it every day, every play."
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