COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Indiana football isn’t just winning games.
The Hoosiers are dominating. They’re overpowering their opponents and breaking them, every single week.
Every game is different; some opponents are tougher than others, some road environments are more hostile than others, some other circumstances can be more challenging than others.
But No. 2 IU is simply crushing its competition, week in and week out. Maryland was the latest victim, in a 55-10 drubbing on Saturday at SECU Stadium.
“The key to the drill to me is that you’re playing from the first play to the last play the same. And we’re getting close to getting that — we’re real close,” IU head coach Curt Cignetti said after the game. “And that’s why you see some of the results that you see.”
The Hoosiers (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) didn’t start Saturday’s game in a way that suggested they’d run away with a win. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza threw an interception on his second pass attempt of the day, and IU’s offense went backwards on its second series.
Indiana’s defense held Maryland to a field goal after the turnover, and IU’s offense adjusted and compiled a long touchdown drive on its third possession. But the first quarter still finished just 7-3, with a competitive 87-55 yardage differential.
But Maryland (4-4, 3-3) could only hang around for so long. This Indiana team is too dominant. IU outgained the Terps 203-31 in the second quarter, got key interceptions by Kaiden Turner and Louis Moore, and took a 20-3 lead going into halftime.
The Hoosiers may not always immediately break games open, but once they get rolling, it’s hard to slow them back down.
“I think it’s just complementary football,” linebacker Isaiah Jones said. “Playing on the road’s always hard, no matter who you’re playing. So just settling in, letting the offense know the defense has got their back, and vice versa.”
Complementary is an appropriate word to describe Cignetti’s squad. Indiana isn’t a one-dimensional team. It just has so many different ways it can win games.
There shouldn’t be any doubt the Hoosiers offense can keep up in a shootout. IU has not yet faced a true shootout type of game this year, but this offense is leading the country with 46.4 points per game. This team has also proven it can win tighter, lower-scoring affairs, like the 20-15 win at Iowa. it helps to have the nation’s No. 3 scoring defense and No. 7 total defense.
Indiana can start fast and smother opponents right away, or it can need a bit to figure some things out, like it did in College Park. UMD played aggressive pass defense, and the Hoosiers adjusted and leaned on their running game. And even after needing a few drives to sort that out, they still rushed for 367 yards, their most in a single game since 2016. Of course, it helps to hold the Terps to 37 rushing yards and rack up three fumble recoveries and two interceptions.
“We have one of the best run games in the country. So when you wanna take away the pass, then, alright, sure. We’ll run 370 yards down your throat,” Mendoza said. “I put the defense in a tough situation to start the game with the turnover. … But our defense did a fantastic job of creating five turnovers today, which won the turnover ratio. And I think they did a great job of complementing us.”
This was the second consecutive game Indiana won by 45 points. It’s hard to say IU ran up the score, when Cignetti put Alberto Mendoza in at quarterback for the entire fourth quarter and ran 14 running plays to three passes. This is just part of the way this team is pummeling its opponents. The Hoosiers play a full 60 minutes of football, no matter the score or who’s on the field.
Of course, Maryland isn’t a team similar to the ones Indiana could see in the Big Ten Championship Game or the College Football Playoff. The Terps are just fighting to secure bowl eligibility, and they’ve now lost four straight games. But Indiana did this against a much better Illinois team in September, in a 63-10 victory. And although the Hoosiers played a closer game at No. 6 Oregon in October, the way they won that game proved a lot about this team’s mettle against top-tier competition.
Indiana won’t face another opponent that the general public will view an acceptable test until December. But this team is passing the eye test with flying colors. Every single week, the Hoosiers are showing up to the stadium and dominating the other team — and then repeating the process for the next game. They’re playing like a group that’s locked in on — and barreling towards — some massive goals and opportunities at the end of the season.
“I feel like last year, we’re new to the Big Ten and didn’t really know what to expect. And we started winning some games and started to understand that we’re good. But now, it’s about winning the championship; it’s about winning the Big Ten championship, and trying to win a natty,” Mikail Kamara said. “So I think we just understand that every single week, we have to attack it like it’s any other game. I think that’s the mindset every single time.”
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