Todd’s Take: If It Seems Like It’s Been Smooth Sailing For Indiana Football, It Has Been

Even good teams usually have adversity to overcome, but Indiana has been blissfully drama-free in 2024.

Todd Golden | 2 Hours Ago

Indiana's Myles Price (4) celebrates a touchdown during the Indiana versus Washington football game at Memorial Stadium on Oct. 26, 2024. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In this story:

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Having covered sports since the 1990s, I’ve been around enough teams to know that the journey to the final destination is rarely paved with fresh blacktop.

Even good teams usually have something to overcome. It could be something behind the scenes that the public doesn’t know about. It could be a change in personnel. Or it could be injuries. Whatever it may be, it’s rare to have calm waters for an entire season.

As Indiana’s football team prepares for its College Football Playoff game at 8 p.m. ET Friday at Notre Dame, I tried to come up with any adversity the Hoosiers had to overcome this season.

Was there any locker room disharmony? If there was, the Hoosiers have kept it under wraps and even if there was, it hasn’t affected the on-field performance one iota.

Was there a divide between the coaching staff and the players? No, quite the opposite. Most of this roster has fallen in lockstep with Curt Cignetti, and of course, many of these players followed Cignetti to Indiana from James Madison.

Were there injuries? Yes, there have been, but none that have sent the Hoosiers’ fortunes tumbling. The guard spot is the only hard-hit position, as Nick Kidwell was lost in fall camp and Drew Evans was injured prior to the Michigan game. Bray Lynch and Tyler Stephens stepped in, and the Hoosiers didn’t skip a beat.

Quarterback Kurtis Rourke missed a single game, but Tayven Jackson led Indiana to a victory against Washington anyway. None of Indiana’s other injuries have had any impact on the Hoosiers’ fortunes.

Indiana has had very few non-injury related changes in the lineup. The starting group has been very stable.

Other things that can deep-six teams – players who don’t perform to previous form, or perhaps a schedule surprise with a team that was better than perceived – have been blissfully absent from Indiana’s 11-1 season.

From the outside looking in, it seems that the Hoosiers have had smooth sailing. Surely, there was something behind the scenes that challenged the Hoosiers in ways we wouldn’t understand, right?

“It’s definitely been really smooth,” said Indiana wide receiver Myles Price, who then elaborated just how seamless the transition was for him when he arrived from Texas Tech.

“I got here in January, and don't regret any moment of it. This is the vision that I saw,” Price continued. “Every year, there's multiple teams in college football who had a losing record the year before, and then the next year, they go on and do things like this. So I already had this kind of mapped out in my head. And it just happened to work out like that.”

Of the Indiana players made available to the media this week, none that were asked cited any out-of-game-adversity the Hoosiers have had to overcome. It’s a testament to how well-planned Cignetti’s transition was and how successful he’s been in establishing his culture.

The players cited game-related adversity as their only obstacle to overcome – and they’re hoping to apply those lessons in the College Football Playoff game against Notre Dame.

Michigan State's Aidan Chiles, right, is tackled by Indiana's Shawn Asbury II during the first quarter on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Defensive tackle James Carpenter cited Indiana’s comeback at Michigan State on Nov. 2 – the Hoosiers trailed by 10 at the end of the first quarter but won 47-10 – as an important step in Indiana’s evolution.

“Even though we came back, I still think that was a big one for us, just to kind of see how we responded. We were down. We became strong for that,” Carpenter noted.

Carpenter’s defensive tackle partner, CJ West, said Indiana’s ability to deal with in-game adversity is a trait coached into them. They buy into it completely.

“Every football game is not exactly perfect,” West said. “Something's going to eventually happen, and it’s having a mindset that it's not going to affect my very next play. Just shake back from it and complete your job. Focus and rely on your preparation executions you're doing during the week to not let that get in your head.”

Some of the players cited the 38-15 loss at Ohio State on Nov. 23 as an important lesson that can be applied to Friday’s game at Notre Dame Stadium. Running back Ty Son Lawton said that the Hoosiers are working with constant noise at practice to deal with the anticipated din in South Bend.

“We really got tested at Ohio State. Things didn't really go our way. But I don't think there's been something like to where guys kind of feel like, ‘Hey, we've arrived.’ I don't think there's been that type of mentality,” Price said.

Perhaps Price clued all of us into what has made Indiana seem like it’s had a smooth season. It’s easy to appear to be smooth when things are prepared so well behind the scenes.

“I think everything we did was process oriented. We just kind of followed the process. And we're here now,” Price said.

A smooth ride that the Hoosiers hope will continue in the four games needed to win the College Football Playoff.

Todd’s Take: If It Seems Like It’s Been Smooth Sailing For Indiana Football, It Has Been

Todd Golden | 2 Hours Ago

Related stories on Indiana football

In 1898, Indiana Football Triumphed At Notre Dame – Still The Only Hoosiers To Win There

Takeaways From 2025 Indiana Football Schedule

How Does Indiana Football Stack Up Against Other CFP Schools Statistically?

Industry Expert Explains Why Hiring Curt Cignetti Led To Indiana Football History