Hoosiers Now

LIVE BLOG: Follow Indiana's Big Ten Football Game Against Charlotte

Welcome to our live blog for Indiana's last nonconference game against Charlotte. We'll keep you updated with all the news and views in real time, with opinion and highlights thrown in as well, live from the Memorial Stadium.

Todd Golden

Indiana's Jamier Johnson (9) celebrates a third down stop during the Indiana versus Charlotte football game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024.
Indiana's Jamier Johnson (9) celebrates a third down stop during the Indiana versus Charlotte football game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Welcome to Memorial Stadium. We're about 60 minutes from kickoff as the Hoosiers host Charlotte in their last nonconference game of the season.

Glad that it is too. I think I've made my own feelings clear on how I feel about Indiana's nonconference slate. Looking forward to seeing only Big Ten teams after today.

It is going to be a hot day at Memorial Stadium. Temperatures are already in the upper 70s and it will only get hotter as the game goes along. Sun is mercilessly bearing down on the stadium. Hydrate everyone.

I think there's a general state of contentment regarding the Hoosiers right now. I also think Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti fears that a little bit. We'll see how hungry the Hoosiers are against a Charlotte team they should handle at home.

• Some statistics: QB Kurtis Rourke 16 of 20 for 258 yards and 1 TD; RB Justice Ellison led a five-headed Indiana running attack with 58 yards. Miles Cross topped the receiving chart for the second straight week with 5 catches for 46 yards. Aiden Fisher led Indiana with 8 tackles. No sacks for the Hoosiers today

FINAL: Indiana 52, Charlotte 14. The preliminaries are over and Indiana passed its nonconference tests with an A+ grad. It's all Big Ten, all the time now as Maryland comes to Bloomington at noon next Saturday.

Indiana 52-14, 755 4Q. Hoosiers give it up on downs after the fumble as things wind down at Memorial Stadium.

Indiana 52-14, 9:24 4Q. Charlotte fumbles on its first play from scrimmage. It was forced by Mario Landino and recovered by Bryson Bonds at the Charlotte 32-yard line.

Indiana 52-14, 9:36 4Q. Green becomes the fifth Hoosier to notch a rushing touchdown. A quarter of Green's 16 carries this season have gone for TDs. That's scoring at a Tecmo Bowl clip.

Touchdown Indiana. Running back Elijah Green finds paydirt for the fourth straight game. This was one was a 13-yard run to the left side.

Indiana 45-14, 10:09 4Q. Fourth quarter is dragging along. Penalties, timeouts. A lot of stoppages signifying nothing important in the final balance.

Indiana 45-14, 12:32 4Q. Much of the crowd has bailed. It's hot, it's sunny, I get it. Indiana is creating their own crowd problem by being too good! The competitive phase of this game has long passed. Can't blame fans for wanting to seek out some shade and/or their favorite beverage.

End 3rd quarter - Indiana 45, Charlotte 14. No muss, no fuss for the Hoosiers.

Indiana 45-14, :59 3Q. Tayven Jackson now playing QB for the Hoosiers. Rourke started the series. No obvious reason for concern as Rourke is on the sideline taking it all in.

Indiana 45-14, 2:24 4Q. Hoosiers force the fourth Charlotte punt of the game. This time the 49ers wrap up Myles Price for a 1-yard return. Kurtis Rourke still calling the shots at the quarterback spot as Indiana takes over at its own 24.

Indiana 45-14, 3:42 3Q. Another efficient, 7-play, 70-yard scoring series. Hoosiers have 426 yards of total offense. Kurtis Rourke has completed 16 of 20 passes for 258 yards and a TD. Four Hoosiers (Kaelon Black, Justice Ellison, Ty Son Lawton and Rourke) have rushed for at least 32 yards and all have at least one TD run. Can't complain about the offense today ... or for the whole season to-date.

Touchdown Indiana. Kaelon Black blows by the Charlotte defenders on the left sideline for a 21-yard TD scamper. Impressive acceleration from Black.

Indiana 38-14, 6:59 3Q. Indiana's run defense hasn't been very good today. Charlotte had runs of 9, 11, 12, 4 and 10 yards before the Hoosiers finally stiffened resistance. Charlotte got to the Indiana 27 and faced 4th-and-1. Nice initial hit by Jailin Walker resulted in a tackle for loss for Shawn Asbury II and Marcus Burris Jr. Still, the 49ers are averaging 5.4 yards per carry. Review on-going to determine the spot Indiana will take over at.

Indiana 38-14, 12:13 3Q. Picture of efficiency from the Hoosiers. Indiana goes 75 yards in five plays. Included was a beautiful pass from Kurtis Rourke to Myles Price on a sideline route. Just a perfectly thrown ball.

Touchdown Indiana. Ty Son Lawton gets his second TD run. A 6-yard run up the gut. It's under review.

Halftime - Indiana 31, Charlotte 14. Defense has had its worst half of the season, but the offense has more than made up for it.

Indiana 31-14, :26 2Q. Indiana's defense hasn't been its sharpest, but the offense is humming right along. Hoosiers marched 50 yards in 7 plays. Rourke has proven to be almost as valuable with his feet as he is with his arm. Rourke has 32 rushing yards to go with his 180 passing yards.

Touchdown Indiana. Running tempo in the red zone, Kurtis Rourke finds a wide-open Ke'Shawn Williams open over the middle for a 19-yard touchdown strike.

Indiana 24-14, 3:05 2Q. The big play was on the first play of the series as tight end Sam West got free on the right side for a 37-yard reception. Rourke's run was not designed, but he did a nice job of improvising with his receivers covered and Charlotte was unable to catch him.

Bad news on the kickoff as kickoff specialist Alejandro Quintero had to be helped off the field. With Derek McCormick out, it will likely be Quinn Warren who will take over.

Touchdown Indiana. Kurtis Rourke scrambles in from 12 yards out.

Indiana 17-14, 5:19 2Q. Well, a bit of adversity for the Hoosiers. Charlotte has called a very good game to keep the Hoosiers off-balance and Charlotte quarterback Trexler Ivey has played well. Ivey has completed 8 of 12 passes for 91 yards. First time an opposing offense has consistently humbled the Indiana defense this season. So far, Indiana's offense has been up to the challenge of responding and it has to do so again.

Touchdown Charlotte. The 49ers are now 5 of 7 on third down as Trexler Ivey finds Isaiah Myers over the middle for a 25-yard touchdown pass.

Indiana 17-7, 6:09 2Q. Charlotte is 4 of 6 on third down conversions in the game as the 49ers march into Indiana territory again.

Indiana 17-7, 9:50 2Q. Good response from Indiana after the Charlotte score. Marched 75 yards in seven plays and the only reason it took that long is that an earlier touchdown run by Kaelon Black was taken away due to holding. Kurtis Rourke threw a beautiful ball to Myles Price for a 37-yard gain, followed by a 29-yard Elijah Sarratt reception.

Looked to see if Donaven McCulley would be in for Indiana's four plays inside the 10, but I never saw him.

Touchdown Indiana. Justice Ellison goes up the middle, rolls off the pile, and scores from 2 yards out.

Indiana 10-7, 1347 2Q. Impressive drive from Charlotte. Converted three third downs and recovered after anotther touchdown pass by Trexler Ivey was wiped out due to an ineligible receiver. Forced back to the 13, Charlotte went against the grain and ran the ball with Stokes, who made it payoff.

Probably the worst defensive series the Hoosiers have had. I suppose some of the half-ending series that resulted in points are in the conversation, but this was the first time Indiana gave up decent gains when the chips were down. Game on.

Touchdown Charlotte, maybe. C.J. Stokes goes around the right side and scores from 13 yards. Ruled a touchdown, it's under review. Looked like a TD live and on replay.

End 1st quarter - Indiana 10, Charlotte 0. 49ers are on the move, though. Charlotte has the ball on the Indiana 7 at the quarter break. 49ers have converted a pair of third downs and fooled Indiana with a reverse that resulted in a 33-yard run for Henry Rutledge.

Indiana 10-0, 4:08 1Q. A rare sign of vulnerability for the Indiana offense. Hoosiers marched quickly inside the 10 - utilizing the running game against Charlotte's poor run defense to good effect.

However, Kurtis Rourke threw two passes into the end zone high and the Hoosiers had to settle for a 27-yard Nicolas Radicic field goal. A rare miss inside the red zone (or "red area" as coaches seem fond of calling it) for the Hoosiers.

Indiana is 15 of 19 scoring touchdowns on red zone opportunities.

• Big ovation for Victor Oladipo as the Indiana Athletics Hall Of Famers are announced.

Indiana 7-0, 749 1Q. Charlotte gains a single first down, but is forced to punt the ball away. Another good punt return by Myles Price, this one a 22-yarder, sets Indiana up in good shape near midfield.

Indiana starters - Offense: QB Kurtis Rourke; RB Ty Son Lawton, WR Myles Price, WR Miles Cross; WR Elijah Sarratt; TE Zach Horton; LT Carter Smith; LG Drew Evans; C Mike Katic; RG Bray Lynch; RT Trey Wedig.
Defense: DT James Carpenter; DT CJ West; DE Mikail Kamara; DE Lanell Carr Jr.; LB Jailin Walker; LB Aiden Fisher; CB Jamari Sharpe; CB Jamier Johnson; S Josh Sanguinetti; S Shawn Asbury II; S Amare Ferrell.

Indiana 7-0, 10:12 1Q. A 21-yard punt return by Myles Price set the tone. Indiana was forced into one third down conversion, but they converted it and then moved consistently. from there. A 24-yard catch and run by Andison Coby put the Hoosiers in position for Lawton's run.

Touchdown Indiana. Ty Son Lawton barrels in from 8 yards out with 10:12 left in the first quarter.

Pregame - Indiana injuries today submitted to the Big Ten for the availability report, all players listed as out: K Derek McCormick, TE James Bomba and DB Te'Derius Collins are all out. Same as last week.

• The Rock isn't packed. With the sun blaring down and the heat going up, it will be interesting how many fans stick it out to the end, especially if Indiana is in command.

• Indiana won a coin toss! First time this season the Hoosiers have done that. Charlotte will get the ball first.

.• Be interesting if we see more Donaven McCulley today. He was targeted once (and drew a penalty on a goal line fade route) at UCLA and then wasn't really seen again. Indiana's receiving corps is deep, so he's not vital, but it would be nice for him to get into a rhythm.

• On Charlotte, it is "Charlotte" not "UNC Charlotte". The name officially changed in 2000 ... even though you still people calling it the latter name.

I thought their 49ers nickname was something simple like it was the year the colony of North Carolina was founded or maybe the city of Charlotte, but there's more to it.

Apparently, the school was nearly shutdown in 1949, but was saved. That spirit of survival was associated with the California gold miners (???) and the 49ers nickname stuck.

While I wouldn't have guessed that origin story at least it's unique. Although, so was their original nickname, Owls, because Charlotte was a night school.

• Fashion report: The fashion report is pretty boring once again for the Hoosiers. The usual red top, white pants and IU helmet. Charlotte is wisely in all-white with green as the accent color.

Related stories on Indiana football

  • INJURY REPORT: Injuries announced by Indiana for its game against Charlotte. CLICK HERE.
  • MEET THE OPPONENT: Charlotte travels to Indiana after an improbable comeback win over Gardner-Webb. Here's a full breakdown of the 49ers. CLICK HERE
  • GAME DAY PREDICTION AND THREE KEYS FOR CHARLOTTE: Hoosiers On SI tries to see clearly through the crystal ball on what will happen in Saturday's game against Charlotte. CLICK HERE.
  • HOW TO WATCH: Indiana football continues the 2024 season against the Charlotte 49ers on Saturday at noon ET at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington. Here's how to watch, with game time and TV information, the latest on the point spread, series history, coaching information and more. CLICK HERE
  • OPENING LINE: Indiana is a heavy favorite in Week 4 against Charlotte. CLICK HERE
  • CJ WEST HAS SUSPENSION RESCINDED: Curt Cignetti revealed on his Inside Indiana radio show that defensive tackle CJ West had his targeting suspension rescinded by the Big Ten. CLICK HERE.
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Todd Golden
TODD GOLDEN

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