BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana football team is in the middle of its second bye week of the season. It wasn’t too long ago that the Hoosiers’ bye weeks were viewed as an opportunity to escape misery on the field, but Curt Cignetti’s 2024 team has flipped the script.

Indiana has had an unprecedented season. The 10-0 record achieved by the Hoosiers has never been achieved in program history. With the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff on very short notice to deliver its potential reward for a historic season, Indiana has a world of possibilities ahead of it that no one could have imagined in August.

The bye week offers an opportunity to reflect on what has happened with just two regular season games to play, Nov. 23 at No. 2 Ohio State and Nov. 30 at home against Purdue. Hoosiers On SI will examine each game and put into context how each one fits into the puzzle of having a great season.

We’ll continue Indiana’s fourth game of the season with a home non-conference game against Charlotte.

Introduction to the Game Explanation – Indiana is 3-0 after a dazzling 42-13 victory in a Week 3 surprise at UCLA. Following a predatory trip to California, Charlotte’s visit was a bit of a downer for the opposition.

So the natural reaction was to wonder how Indiana could handle even a little success. Curt Cignetti was chasing any idea that the Hoosiers were satisfied. This was the week he talked about not falling for the “warm and fuzzy stuff” that happens when a team starts winning.

Pregame Coverage

Conclusion – Playing with a third-string quarterback, Charlotte performed admirably with the Hoosiers before defeating the Indiana 49ers. Indiana’s lead was only 17-14 with 5:19 left in the first half, but Indiana scored twice before halftime, the first of 35 unanswered points in the 52-14 victory.

The Actor Learned to Love Fans – K. Nicolas Radicic: Have you noticed Indiana’s kicks this season? You probably haven’t, and that’s not a bad thing. Nicolas Radicic has had a stress-free performance in positional shots all season long.

It was a typical Radicic performance against Charlotte. He found the target on a short shot attempt and scored seven extra points.

Radicic won the ground kicking job in fall camp and hasn’t looked back. The Coppell, Texas, native, a holdover from the Tom Allen era, made all eight of his field goal attempts and was an impressive 59 of 59 on extra points. He’s so impressive that Radicic leads the nation in extra points with 11 PATs over Miami (Fla.) kicker Andres Borregales and Boise State kicker Jonah Dalmas.

Persistent Trend – Balanced Running Attack: By now, Indiana fans were learning that Cignetti loved spreading wealth in the backfield. This was a prime example.

Judge Ellison had nine shots; that was the most among any Indiana runner. Kaelon Black and Ty Son Lawton had seven carries. Khobie Martin had six carries recently. Elijah Green had four carries.

As the season progressed, Ellison and Lawton emerged as dominant runners. Ellison has 120 carries and Lawton has 106, but outside of Indiana’s game against Washington, Cignetti and the offensive staff manage to find carries for other Hoosiers.

The rewards are self-evident. Ellison (5.7 ypc), Black (5.6 ypc) and Lawton (4.8 ypc) have been productive for the Hoosiers.

Do You Have Post-Game Anxiety? – Indiana was leading 4-0. They had made it through the (easy) non-conference schedule without stumbling over their toes with a loss or even a poor performance. The team was relatively healthy. The defense was giving up attacks late in the first half, but this did not hurt the Hoosiers in the final balance. Everything was fine.

Narration Exiting the Game – How good can this Hoosiers team be? It was becoming clear to everyone that there was a positive path forward for the Hoosiers. Maryland and Northwestern, two teams with uneven starts to their seasons, were next for the Hoosiers and were the only thing standing between Indiana and bowl eligibility. There was a real chance for this team to succeed, qualify for the bowl and perhaps compete near the top of the Big Ten.

Pro Football Focus stars (top 5 scorers per unit, 10 or more games) – Offense: RB Kaelon Black (90.2), RB Justice Ellison (88.4), QB Kurtis Rourke (87.3), WR Ke’Shawn Williams (73), WR Myles Price (72.6); Defense: CB Jamari Sharpe (74.9), LB Rolijah Hardy (74.5), S Josh Sanguinetti (74.4), S Bryson Bonds (72.1), DE Mikail Kamara (70.1).

Post Game Coverage

next game – From now on? It was always the Big Ten. Maryland followed the Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium on Sept. 28.