Indiana’s Dominance in First, Fourth Quarters Leads to Nation’s No. 1 Point Differential

Indiana is the only team that hasn’t allowed a point in the first quarter this season. It has also worn down opponents in the fourth quarter, thanks to its strength and conditioning staff.

Indiana's Justice Ellison (6) celebrates a touchdown against Nebraska at Memorial Stadium. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – New stats pop up each week documenting Indiana’s historic season.

Most recently, Coach Curt Cignetti’s group joined the 1967 Hoosiers as the program’s only teams to start 8-0. But perhaps the most eye-popping stat pits Indiana against recent college football dynasties like Georgia and Alabama – and the Hoosiers have the upper hand.

With Saturday’s 31-17 win over Washington, Indiana became the first FBS team in at least 20 years to start 8-0 without trailing in a game, per ESPN’s David Hale. There are many reasons why Indiana has gained that distinction. Two of them are the way Indiana starts games and finishes them.

Indiana is the nation’s only team that has held all of its opponents scoreless in the first quarter, running up an 87-0 advantage. The Hoosiers have played especially well in the fourth quarter, too, outscoring opponents 101-20.

Those first and fourth-quarter scoring margins lead the way for an Indiana team that has the nation’s No. 1 point differential at plus-32.4 per game. In total, Indiana has outscored its opponents 372-113 this season, good for the nation’s second-highest scoring offense per game (46.5) and a defense that ranks seventh in points allowed per game (14.1). 

So, what has led to Indiana’s early success?

“I think we're executing well to start the game,” Cignetti said Monday. “We got a lot of experienced, confident players, and they're making plays early.”

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti looks at the scoreboard against Nebraska at Memorial Stadium. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Indiana’s offense has scored a touchdown on its first drive in four of eight games this season. But even when it hasn’t scored immediately, like in two recent games, the defense has had its back. 

On Saturday against Washington, Indiana’s first three drives included two three-and-outs and a turnover on downs. Against Maryland, Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke threw two interceptions on the first two possessions, and running back Kaelon Black fumbled the ball late in the second quarter. 

What has made Indiana so difficult to beat this year is its complementary football. After each turnover against Maryland, Indiana’s defense forced a three and out. 

There was a similar dynamic at play on Saturday against Washington. As the offense stumbled out of the gates, Indiana’s defense sacked Washington quarterback Will Rogers twice on the first possession. Cornerback D’Angelo Ponds returned an interception for a touchdown on the Huskies’ second drive.

“Looked like we had the potential to fall behind in the first quarter this past week,” Cignetti said. “... That day's coming. Doesn't last forever. Hopefully it's not coming.”

First-quarter success has given Indiana the luxury of playing with a lead, something any coach would prefer. Going into its game in Bloomington, Washington coach Jedd Fisch said Indiana’s early leads may have given opponents play-calling anxiety – meaning that they’d go away from their game plans and throw the ball more than they’d run it, in hopes of quickly cutting the deficit.

It’s also the mentality the Hoosiers carry, that they’re not the underdog the program has historically been.

“[Cignetti] instills it in your brain that we’re the best team, that we have the best guys, that we don’t really need anything else,” Indiana safety Shawn Asbury II said after the Hoosiers defeated Nebraska, 56-7. “He believes in us; we believe in each other.”

Indiana's Shawn Asbruy II (1) returns an interception against Nebraska at Memorial Stadium. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“Coach always says play with emotion, but don’t play emotional,” Indiana running back Justice Ellison said after the Washington game “… Don’t get too high, don’t get too low, stay in the middle and keep playing ball. When you have that mindset, it doesn’t matter what’s going on.’’

That’s not to say Indiana has been bad, or even average, in the second and third quarters. It just hasn’t matched the elite standard of its first and fourth-quarter play. The second quarter has been the highest scoring for both Indiana and its opponents, with the Hoosiers outscoring opponents 104-62. The Hoosiers have an 80-31 advantage in the third quarter, their worst from an offensive standpoint.

After building leads in each game, the Hoosiers have often worn out opponents in the fourth quarter. On Oct. 5, Northwestern cut Indiana’s lead to three points with 11:19 left in the game. Indiana responded with a 10-play, 75-yard drive that churned 4:56 off the clock.

Ellison led Indiana with 68 rushing yards in that game, but fellow running backs Kaelon Black and Ty Son Lawton handled the carries on a scoring drive that went a long way in sealing the victory.

“It definitely just wears the defense down,” Rourke said after defeating Northwestern. “That’s one of our strengths, that we can play so many guys and always have fresh legs, whether that’s at receiver, that’s the running backs. So I think that’s a huge weapon to be able to have those guys consistenly rotate through and always be ready.”

Even without Rourke against Nebraska, backup quarterback Tayven Jackson led the Hoosiers on two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter. The first, a 10-yard run by Black, was set up by a turnover on downs forced by the defense. Indiana extended its lead after an interception by true freshman linebacker Rolijah Hardy, as running back Elijah Green punched in a one-yard touchdown late in the fourth. 

“A lot of times when you get a big lead like that, you start playing a little lazy – not lazy, but taking your foot off the gas,” Asbury said. “I’m glad we just kept our foot on the gas and ran up the score.”

Indiana center Mike Katic said he tells the offensive line before every drive that it's their responsibility to take control of the game. In the second half against Washington, Indiana had a touchdown drive that took 7:42 off the clock. And after the Huskies made it a 14-point game with 6:06 to play, Indiana ran the clock out with 10 straight rushes from Ellison, Black and Jackson.

Indiana Hoosiers running back Ty Son Lawton (17) and offensive lineman Mike Katic (56) celebrate after a touchdown against Maryland at Memorial Stadium. / Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

“That’s kind of what the story’s been these last couple weeks, just breaking their will in the fourth quarter and just dominating. And I think we did that,” Katic said Saturday. “... You can just see guys breaking down, they’re huffing and puffing. We’re huffing and puffing as well, but we can sense their will being broken, and that’s when I think we’re the most dominant.”

Cignetti attributes a lot of factors to Indiana’s end-of-game dominance, including the momentum it built earlier in the game and director of athletic performance Derek Owings’ work the the team. Wide receiver Elijah Sarratt, who leads the team with 33 receptions for 590 yards and trained with Owings last season at James Madison, agrees.

“Summer workouts,” Sarratt said, was the reason for Indiana’s fourth-quarter success. “... We used to work out at like 12 o’clock in the heat, grinding. I just gotta attribute it to that. We got a great strength staff, and coach Owings sets us up for times like that so we’re not tired in the fourth.”

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