BLOOMINGTON — A third of the way through the 2024 season, Indiana’s offense has been a merciless wrecking crew.
The Hoosiers boast some of the top team offensive numbers in the Big Ten and the country through four games, and it’s difficult to find much fault with the unit so far. Indiana hasn’t been perfect, but that’s an impossibly high standard to set — and the offense still hasn’t been far off that mark.
IU continued the domination on Saturday, with a 52-14 win over Charlotte at Memorial Stadium. The victory gives the Hoosiers their first 4-0 start since 2020, the their offense has been the biggest driving force behind the strong start to the season.
“Our ability to move the ball down the field (stands out). It’s been — I don’t want to say it’s been easy, but almost, it’s felt like it’s been easy to kind of move the ball up and down the field, so I’m really happy about that,” fifth-year senior wide receiver Myles Price said after the game. “Everybody’s doing their job.”
Entering Saturday’s game, IU ranked No. 12 in the nation and second in the Big Ten in total offense, at 515 yards per game. Indiana racked up 510 against Charlotte (1-3), though backups played the entire fourth quarter.
The Hoosiers entered the Charlotte game No. 25 in the country and fourth in the conference with 226.7 rushing yards per game; they put up 222 on Saturday.
IU averaged 288.3 pass yards per game — 33rd in the country and sixth in the Big Ten — and put up exactly 288 against the 49ers.
The Hoosiers averaged 50 points per game through the first three weeks, good for sixth in the country and second in the conference, and they exceeded that mark on Saturday.
IU isn’t doing anything completely innovative on offense. It’s simply employing a good balance of running and passing, utilizing its strong depth at running back and wide receiver, and avoiding excessive mistakes. Offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan’s system — with occasional input from head coach Curt Cignetti — is working as intended so far. The coaching staff is putting sixth-year senior quarterback Kurtis Rourke and his array of weapons in positions to succeed.
“I just think it’s a real group effort (from the coaching staff) and we’re not afraid to throw something up there. And our guys are quick learners,” Cignetti said. “We have a lot of experienced players who understand football and can handle a pretty heavy plate and if they can execute it, you’re just going to put the defense in more conflict.”
Rourke’s steady hand has helped Indiana’s offense jell so quickly this year.
It hasn’t been completely seamless, as IU left points on the board during a quieter second half in the season-opener against Florida International. But Rourke has improved since that first game, and is already looking like one of the top quarterbacks in the Big Ten this year. The Ontario, Canada native owned a 74.3 completion percentage entering Saturday, ranking seventh in the country and third in the conference, and he completed 80 percent of his attempts against Charlotte.
Undoubtedly, he’s missed a few throws in each game he’d like to have back. And Rourke isn’t doing it alone: Indiana’s playmakers have looked dangerous so far, and the much-improved offensive line has afforded the rest of the offense the time and space to operate.
But it starts with Indiana’s quarterback. The wide receivers and running backs laud the way he makes everyone else’s jobs easier. And he gives IU’s defense a tough challenge in practice during the week.
“Kurt is a great quarterback,” senior safety Shawn Asbury II said. “He’ll look you off one way and then throw the other way, and it’s like, ‘How do you have that much time to be able to do that,’ especially with our D-line. Kurt kind of makes it easier for us on game days like this.”
Of course, Indiana’s offense hasn’t exactly faced much adversity so far.
The non-conference slate gave IU three games against very beatable teams, by design. Indiana’s historic output against FCS opponent Western Illinois in week two will boost its offensive statistics for the rest of the season, no matter how the last eight games go.
And UCLA, the lone power-conference opponent so far, provided the Hoosiers a relatively soft landing to open Big Ten play.
Aside from the second half against FIU — the first game of the season — Indiana’s starting offense has had very little trouble moving the ball downfield.
To some extent, success should be expected, given the opponents. But nobody outside of the North End Zone could’ve predicted just how formidable Indiana’s offense has looked. Through the first four weeks of 2024, the Hoosiers look like one of the most dangerous offenses in the Big Ten, capable of potentially hanging with the conference’s top dogs.
Sustaining the strong start will be key for the Hoosiers going forward, even if they aren’t scoring 50 points every week. The schedule only gets harder from here, so the offense will face bigger tests the rest of the way. Indiana will have to continue backing up its strong start as the weather gets cooler, the games get tougher, and the stakes get higher.
But with every passing week that IU’s offense continues excelling, it looks increasingly possible that this unit could accomplish big things this season.
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