The 2024 Indiana Hoosiers continue to make program history. On Saturday night, they picked up their tenth win of the season. That’s the first time in program history a team has been able to say that at Indiana, and the first team in the 2024 college football season to say that.
The tenth win was far from perfect, but it happened.
“I'm glad we won,” head coach Curt Cignetti said postgame. “I don't like the way we played. I'm not happy with the way we played, and particularly on offense in the second half.”
Sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe not
The first half was good for the offense, even by Indiana standards. The Hoosiers generated over 200 yards of offense and a 17-3 lead over the reigning national champs.
The second half was not as productive. Indiana’s second-half offense consisted of drives that ended in an interception, punt, punt, punt, and then came a career-long field goal from freshman kicker Nicolas Radicic with 2:34 left in the fourth quarter.
“Two [field goals], and they were both huge,” Cignetti said.
While it was Radicic who literally put Indiana over Michigan on the scoreboard, the defense was able to keep the Hoosiers in the game.
The defense held the Wolverines to 206 total net yards, an average of 3.1 yards per play, with Indiana recovering one fumble. The defense being able to do that over the course of 61 plays and being on the field for 33 minutes is nothing short of great.
Cignetti acknowledged that in the most emotional response he’s given all season.
“I can't say enough about these guys. I don't throw many bouquets out there,” said Cignetti. “We all know that. But these guys have accomplished quite a bit, so I can reflect on that for tonight.”
Big pond, bigger fish
“I think that just speaks to, you know, when you get adversity, how you respond to it. And I think we did a great job with that,” junior linebacker Aiden Fisher said.
Fisher’s 14 tackles were a game high and the unit looked to him down the stretch, which shows why he is the center cog of one of the best defenses in the country.
“That's something that I hold very dear to me,” Fisher said about being the unit’s leader. “When I have that opportunity, I'm making them proud, to make sure that they can depend on me going forward,” Fisher said.
The multiple defensive fronts Indiana put out are what kept Michigan’s offense guessing wrong and stalling. Fisher was most excited about other guys getting opportunities with all these defensive fronts and packages.
A top-ranking defense won Indiana the game today, but the offense still did their job at points. What matters to the team most? The final scoreboard.
“At the end of the day, they all count as one,” Cignetti said. “And you know what? We're going to take the win over the Michigan Wolverines.”
Indiana is off next week with a bye, but in Week 12 they head to Columbus, OH to face off against the Ohio State Buckeyes.
