LIVE BLOG: Follow Indiana's Game with Idaho in Real Time From Memorial Stadium

For the first time in 657 days, there are fans in the stands for an Indiana football game at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington for the home opener against the Idaho Vandals. Follow along live in real time for all the latest news and opinion.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Welcome to Memorial Stadium for a wonderful night of football between 0-1 Indiana and 1-0 Idaho. The lights are on and the weather is perfect. Temperature at kickoff is 77 degrees.

We do our live blog every game, to give the latest news and views from the game, live from the press box at Memorial Stadium. Just keep refreshing the story. The latest items are at the top.

So here we go:

10:29 p.m. ET – Another special teams gem for Indiana as A.J. Barner blocks a punt. Indiana takes over on the Idaho 32-yard line. That's two blocked punts now tonight. Backup running back Davion Ervin-Poindexter  scores from 4 yards out and the Hoosiers now lead 56-14. 

10:18 p.m. ET – We just got our first taste of how great A.J. Barner can be. The sophomore tight end caught a pass over the middle from Jack Tuttle, then ran right past everyone in the Idaho defense for a 76-yard touchdown reception. His speed was incredible – especially for a tight end. Chris Freeman made the extra point and Indiana leads 49-14. 

10:10 p.m. ET – And that's the end of the third quarter, with Indiana still comfortably ahead 42-14. Here's how important special teams play has been tonight. Indiana had 196 yards of total offense and Idaho has 194. Yet the Vandals trail by 28 points. 

10:01 p.m. ET – After an exchange of punts, Indiana takes over again with 2:37 to go in the third quarter. Jack Tuttle comes in at quarterback for the Hoosiers. Penix finishes his night completing 11 of 16 passes for just 68 yards. Nothing happens on Tuttle's first series, and the Hoosiers are forced to punt. 

9:45 p.m. ET – Idaho has another nice drive and scores to make it 42-14. 

9:30 p.m. ET – And that was fast. Thanks to a 72-yard kickoff return by Jacolby Hewitt, Indiana struck quickly. Stephen Carr broke free on a 26-yard run and then a few plays later, Michael Penix Jr. snuck in from the 1 behind guard Matt Bedford. With 13:14 to go in the third, Indiana leads 42-7. Stephen Carr is over 100 yards now. 

My Two Cents: An interesting dilemma for Indiana coach Tom Allen as we get ready to start the second half here. How long do you keep Michael Penix Jr. in the game? It's a blowout and you want to keep him healthy, but he could still use some work. I wouldn't mind see him throw it around a little bit for a series or two before taking a seat. 

9:20 p.m. ET – It's not really not a surprise that Indiana is dominating this game so much. The Hoosiers were, after all, 30.5-point favorites coming into the game. It's amazing how much a dominating defense and great special teams help. Indiana has just 53 yards passing and 83 yards rushing, but they've still hung 35 points on Idaho.

9:06 p.m. ET – Idaho puts together its first drive of the game and breaks the shutout, scoring a touchdown on a pass from Mike Beaudry to Hayden Hatten with 26 seconds left in the half. Indiana takes a knee after the kickoff, and heads to the locker room leading 35-7. 

8:58 p.m. ET – The two special teams touchdowns in a game hasn't happened in a while. It's the first time since September of 1969 against Kentucky. 

8:55 p.m. ET – What a night for Indiana's special teams. D.J. Matthews returns a punt 81 yards for a touchdown. It was Indiana's first punt return for a touchdown since 2018. Charles Campbell with the kick and it's 35-0. That's Matthews' second career punt return touchdown. He did it once when he played at Florida State, too

8:50 p.m. ET – Another great drive by Indiana ends with a touchdown, this time on a quick throw from Michael Penix Jr. to Ty Fryfogle in the left corner of the end zone. Charles Campbell kicks the extra point and the Hoosiers lead 28-0 with 3:39 to go in the second quarter. The long drive took 6 minutes, 32 seconds. 

8:30 p.m. ET – Indiana's offensive line was a problem a week ago, and Michael Penix Jr. just got sacked on two straight plays, forcing Indiana to punt. Don't like seeing that. 

8:23 p.m. ET – Idaho only had 6 yards of total offense in the first quarter.

8:20 p.m. ET – Swinton scored twice in less than a minute. The sophomore from Stafford, Va., had a great fall camp, and he's making an immediate impact in his first bit of action on Saturday night. 

.@IndianaFootball's bringing it in all phases of the game tonight.@famoussvonn recovers the blocked punt for a score, his second TD of the 1Q. pic.twitter.com/sStCvmSq3Y

— Indiana On BTN (@IndianaOnBTN) September 12, 2021

8:15 p.m. ET – Indiana's defense really came to play tonight after last week's disappointing showing. That's another three-and-out for Idaho, and then the Hoosiers block a punt and score. The lead quickly grows to 21-0. Noah Pierre blocked the punt, and then Javon Swinton picked up the loose ball at the 4 and took it in for the score. It's the first time Indiana has scored on a blocked punt since 2003.

8:10 p.m. ET – Indiana strikes quickly, with quarterback Michael Penix Jr. hitting Javon Swinton in the right corner of the end zone for a score. That's Swinton's first career touchdown. He had a great fall camp, but missed the opener for violating team rules. Indiana leads 14-0. 

The throw 💯
The catch 💯@themikepenix hits @famoussvonn for the pretty @IndianaFootball TD. pic.twitter.com/juwBxSiQHP

— Indiana On BTN (@IndianaOnBTN) September 12, 2021

8:05 p.m. ET – On Idaho's second possession, Indiana linebacker Micah McFadden forced a fumble and defensive tackle Weston Kramer recovered the lose ball. It puts Indiana in prime position at the 13-yard line. 

7:57 p.m. ET – What a great first drive for Indiana, very methodical with a great end result. Stephen Carr crashes into the end zone from 2 yards out to give Indiana the 7-0 lead after Charles Campbell's PAT. Carr deserved the TD on this drive because he was the workhorse, with nine carries for 33 yards.

The drive was 18 plays, covering 75 yards and it took 8 minutes and 34 seconds off the clock. All season highs, of course.

7:45 p.m. ET – Indiana really wants to get its running game going this week, and it's showing early. Starting running back Stephen Carr has has two nice runs already on the first drive. He had a 17-yard gain, then got another first down on a 4-yard run. 

7:35 p.m. ET – Idaho has won the toss and elected to receive. That strategy worked well for Iowa last week. The Hawkeyes scored on a touchdown on their first possession against Indiana's defense in a 34-6 loss.

It didn't work for Idaho, which went three and out and were forced to punt.