Indiana defeated Washington 31-17 in Bloomington on Saturday afternoon, advancing to 8-0 after facing some of the most adversity they've seen in a football game so far this season.
The Hoosiers’ 8-0 start stands as the second time in program history that Indiana has carried a record like this. Indiana had begun their season 8-0 all the way back in 1967.
“You are what your record says you are,” Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti said post game. “Believe me, we’re going to put that tape on, and it ain’t going to be real pretty a lot of times on offense and it won’t be on defense either, there will be a lot of mistakes out there. But (we're) not off to a bad start, I guess.”
The Huskies came in as the top passing defense in the Big Ten, which meant that Indiana had an idea that this game was setting up to be a potential battle through the run game. And while they did rely heavily on the run game and starting running back Justice Ellison, Washington continued in changing their strategies and pushing back at Indiana on all cylinders.
Cignetti noted post game that there was a point where the whole play book was thrown out the window. Washington had been adjusting its tendencies frequently enough that it came clear that the Hoosiers were going to have to figure it out as they went.
Ellison, who had a career high of 29 carries for the Hoosiers in Saturday's game, had been Indiana’s go-to player. Making plays both big and small, Ellison was the carrier of one touchdown and rushed for 123 yards.
“I mean it's everything you work for in the offseason. You work so hard for those moments as a running back because, you know, that's what the team needs you to do,” Ellison said. “It's nowhere near about ‘Justice Ellison’ because it's not about me at all. It's about this team.”
Indiana’s defense had been another high volume of a contributor on Saturday afternoon. Without the early attack and consistency throughout the entirety of the game, the Hoosiers may have been not as lucky.
Defensive back Shawn Asbury ll and defensive lineman Mikail Kamara both came out firing with two sacks on Washington quarterback Will Rogers in the opening drive.
Sophomore defensive back D’Angelo Ponds also had a career game with two interceptions off of Rogers that changed the momentum of the game. Ponds’ first interception made it all the way to the house for a 67-yard touchdown, putting Indiana on the board first.
The sophomore’s second pick flicked off of the hands of Washington wide receiver Denzel Boston right into the hands of Ponds, which led Indiana to its next scoring drive.
Cignetti praised the Ponds post game, noting him as a ball player. His teammate Kamara affirmed this as well.
“Everytime (opposing teams) try Ponds, it never works,” Kamara said. “And they keep doing it, but it never works.”
However, not everything about Saturday's game went perfectly for Indiana.
Cignetti believed that there were many plays that got left out on the field, and Washington knew how to pressure the Hoosiers on all cylinders.
While things may have gotten gritty and gutty at times for Indiana with the ball, they stepped up where they needed to, when they needed to, and took away the game.
Cignetti said to the media post game that he believes there's no such thing as a bad loss. Now as the heart of Indiana’s strength of schedule approaches, Cignetti shared what he told his team in the locker room after the game.
“Really good teams, championship teams, find ways to win games,” Cignetti said. “That's what we did today. We found ways to win a game.”
Indiana will look to continue to find ways to win games, as the Hoosiers will travel north to East Lansing, Michigan next week to face Michigan State. The Spartans currently sit at 4-3 on the season and 2-2 in the conference ahead of their rivalry game against Michigan on Saturday night.
The Hoosiers will kick off in East Lansing on Saturday at either 12 or 3:30 p.m. ET. The official time and network will be released in the six-day window.
