Indiana football gets a dominant win, Curt Cignetti gets film to dissect

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

“You’d like to end that game a little better,” Indiana football head coach Curt Cignetti said, a 32-point win in his pocket on Saturday night.

Indiana seemed to be on course for a shutout win at Rutgers before a handful of miscues led to a pair of Scarlet Knights touchdowns in what ended up being a 47-15 win for the Hoosiers at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Cignetti never looks particularly pleased on the sideline but his displeasure seemed more pronounced on Saturday night. That displeasure was especially evident after Indiana let up those aforementioned scores in the second half.

The first took just three plays. Running back Clay Thevenin ran for 26 yards before a pair of penalties set Rutgers back ten yards and quarterback AJ Surace delivered a 53-yard pass to receiver Ben Black III, who took it into the endzone from there.

It was second year cornerback Jaylen Bell in coverage, losing track of the ball in the air and Black III shortly after. It’s a play let up under ideal circumstances, obviously, but a let up nonetheless. That’ll be a rep for him to learn from and I imagine Cignetti has or will let him know as much.

It’s not as though Bell was the only one at fault here. Indiana let Rutgers get in this position with Thevenin’s big gain, it can’t let one bad rep lead to another.

Indiana made Rutgers work a bit more for that second one. The Scarlet Knights went down the field in 12 plays, letting up another chunk pass to Surace, this time a 35-yarder over the middle with Preston Zachman and Byron Baldwin Jr. in coverage. Rutgers picked up another chunk courtesy of KJ Duff before punching it in on the ground with Thevenin.

Aside from these drives, Indiana dominated the game. The Hoosiers outgained the Scarlet Knights 593-254, put up 329 rushing yards and had two 100+ yard receivers and as many 100+ yard runners.

There’s a lot to feel good about from that game, from the final margin to Josh Hoover’s deep connection with Charlie Becker and the raw stats as a whole. But those second half mistakes are gonna stick with Cignetti and the coaching staff as something to iron out and fix as Indiana gets deeper into its schedule.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos