BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football is off to a historic start to 2024.
The Hoosiers are 5-0 for the first time since 1967, after their 42-28 win over Maryland on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. IU, as a result, entered the AP Poll at No. 23 on Sunday, for the first time since 2021.
Head coach Curt Cignetti spent the entire offseason talking big, igniting the fan base with a confidence rarely felt around IU football. His team is now backing it up on the field, and the fan base is buying in. The players can feel it.
“I think today was a big day for them. I think us winning this game, now they can actually think we’re legit,” defensive end Mikail Kamara said after the Maryland game. “But we got to keep our heads still locked in and continue to prove it every single week. But I know for sure, the crowds are going to start to sell out and it’s going to get even crazier.”
IU’s announced attendance at yesterday’s game was 48,323 — Memorial Stadium holds 52,626. The stadium was mostly full — and unlike most Hoosier games, the fans remained in the stands until the end of the game. Some fans left at halftime, but most returned to the bleachers for the second half.
It’s just another step in Cignetti’s complete rebuild of IU football and the culture surrounding it. With each passing week, Indiana’s hot start to the season looks like less of a fluke and the team looks more like the real deal. The fans are responding in turn.
But Cignetti is never fully satisfied with his players, and he comes across the same way to IU fans.
“You could feel the fans out there. I’m glad that they keep improving in the attendance area,” Cignetti said after the Maryland game. “I thought that 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 and figure out how to make it even louder because that’s what we want to do. We want to be the best in everything we do.”
Less than halfway through the 2024 season, IU has reached a point where resetting expectations is necessary. Sportsbooks set the line for Indiana’s win total at 5.5 games before the season. It would take a jarring collapse for the Hoosiers to stay under that mark.
The question is no longer whether or not Indiana is good; it’s about how good this team really is. And given the context, it’s reasonable to think big.
Suddenly, the games on IU’s schedule that previously seemed like they could go either way feel like games Indiana should win. Better opponents like Nebraska and Michigan, which looked like they could outmatch Indiana going into the season, could now be in for a fight. Ohio State remains the class of the Big Ten, but the Buckeyes are the only team that — as of week six — would definitely be favored against IU right now.
Indiana football has won eight games only once in the last 30 years. The Hoosiers have won nine games just twice in their entire history. Those benchmarks are certainly in play for this squad. And if they surged beyond that to a 10-win season or better, they could be in contention for a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game.
The Hoosiers will have to keep proving themselves every week, and they’ll have to keep it up amidst increased hype and attention. A loss to Northwestern on Saturday could see this momentum fade.
But IU’s light schedule this year, combined with a stout team without any glaring flaws so far, makes anything feel possible.
“5-0 is awesome, but it’s not the end. We’ve got to keep going, and look to Northwestern this week. Offensively, we feel like we can do much better,” quarterback Kurtis Rourke said. “We have a lot to build on. We can’t be complacent. And just got to chase for the next week, win the next week, and not really look about the whole picture, although it’s great to achieve, for sure.”
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