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Is Indiana ready for prime time?
Technically the Hoosiers already proved they are. Despite playing in only five bowl games since 1993 and going 3-24 in conference play over the last three seasons, NBC curiously put them in the Big Ten’s prime-time slot Saturday against conference newcomer UCLA.
It was Indiana’s first trip to the Rose Bowl stadium since Jan. 1, 1968, when the Hoosiers lost to USC and O.J. Simpson in the “Granddaddy of Them All,” and the real reason for their appearance before a national TV audience was the Bruins playing in their first Big Ten game. With Ohio State, Penn State and USC all having the week off, there was no must-see matchup in Week 3.
Still, watching Indiana blow out the overmatched Bruins 42-3 and celebrating like it was New Year’s Day was a strange site to see. Of course, these are strange days for the Big Ten with the addition of four former Pac-12 teams and an 18-team race for the conference title with no divisions. That means we won’t have to see the likes of Iowa or Purdue in the Big Ten championship game solely because they played in the perennially weak West Division.
Hiring former James Madison coach Curt Cignetti to replace Tom Allen looks like a genius move by Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson. The Hoosiers have scored 150 points in their three wins, including 77 against Western Illinois, and have yet to be really challenged.
Quarterback Kurtis Rourke, a sixth-year veteran and transfer from Ohio University, threw for 307 yards and four touchdowns Saturday. Defensive lineman Mikail Kamara, a James Madison transfer who followed his coach to Bloomington, Ind., recovered a fumble on UCLA’s first play from scrimmage and paced a defense that held the Bruins to 238 yards.
Hoosiers fans who made the trip to Pasadena, Calif., chanted, “Cig, Cig, Cig,” near the…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/paul-sullivan-indiana-upstart-just-093000325.html
Author : Chicago Tribune
Publish date : 2024-09-16 09:30:00
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