Defend The Rock! Road To CFB Visits An Indiana College Football Game Day

In a weekend double-header, Road to CFB heads to Bloomington, Indiana, for the 49th FBS game day on the journey to experience them all.

Brett Gibbons | Road to CFB

Bloomington, Indiana, is one of the most vibrant towns on a fall Saturday. Whether the Hoosiers win two games or ten, "B-Town" comes alive. In 2024, Indiana fields darn good football and Hoosier faithful are fully bought in. This Saturday, in mid-October, featured one of the most electric and eccentric Indiana football game days this century. An over-capacity crowd in Memorial Stadium was just the icing on the cake of an afternoon that featured packed bars before sunrise, FOX Big Noon Kickoff, and a blowout victory for the home team.

Each year, my dad and I plan for a weekend together where he comes along on the journey. Previous stops included bucket list schools like Notre Dame, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. We sat together in the stands for Enter Sandman at Virginia Tech and got a full tour of the Jordan-brand facilities at North Carolina. It's become a tradition, a cherished one, at that. This year, we decided to team up for a weekend in the Hoosier State (dubbed the Old Oaken Bucket Drive, thanks to creative wordsmithing from Andrew of College Football Tour).

Back Home Again In Indiana

Brett Gibbons | Road to CFB

First, a tip. Downtown Bloomington offers multiple parking garages with free parking just over a mile from the stadium – Poplars Garage or Henderson Garage. Those sit just across the street from several bars and hotspots, places that featured long lines and bustling watering holes well before sunrise. Homecoming at Indiana University added to the excitement, but the overwhelming sentiment is that this isn't a rarity.

Either parking garage offers a convenient route to Memorial Stadium right through campus. IU's campus is downright gorgeous; Indiana Memorial Union is a spot of special interest. Head in and sink in to a leather couch next to a crackling fire and warm up from crisp October air with a coffee. This is how you relax before game day. The entirety of campus is worth a walk through.

Another campus spot worth noting is legendary Assembly Hall, home of the iconic Indiana Hoosiers basketball team. "In 49 other states, it's just basketball." Several statues and trophies sit on display for fans. It sits to the east of the stadium and B-Town Boulevard sits to the south. There sat the stage for FOX Big Noon Kickoff and thousands of IU students (the next weekend, Indiana hosted College Game Day for the first time ever).

Brett Gibbons | Road to CFB

But be sure to head back after visiting B-Town Boulevard to the steps of Assembly Hall for "The Walk." Fans flock to this one and the Indiana University Marching Hundred (or, 160, to be more accurate) to welcome the football team to the stadium. A long-standing tradition is Hep's Rock, a tribute to former coach Terry Hoeppner dedicated in 2007. For Curt Cignetti's reign, he had Hep's Rock moved from the north end zone to outside the gates to the east for the players to pat for luck heading in and fans to engage with the tradition.

Navigate to the north end zone to see decommissioned pieces of the U.S.S. Indiana, including the hull and guns.

Defend The Rock!

Brett Gibbons | Road to CFB

Memorial Stadium blends sensible, efficient, and historic into a classically Big Ten venue. Renovations completed in 2018 (and 2024) brought the venue into the 21st Century with new luxury seating options and a gorgeous south end zone structure. If I had to gripe about one thing, it's the inaccessibility to the north and south end zones, so your views of the stadium itself are fairly limited.

The northwest corner of the stadium concourse features the Hoosier Red Zone, a family-friendly zone with games for kids and displays for all fans. Plenty of schools offer a zone like this somewhere on the game day campus, but rarely inside the stadium itself.

Over 53,000 packed the stands of Memorial Stadium this afternoon. While not a record crowd (the 2018 stadium renovation took out many seats), this was one of Indiana's most impressive turnouts in recent decades. The only thing to drown out the scream of the fans was Big Jake, a touchdown celebration cannon that got plenty of work as Indiana marched to 56 points this day.

Brett Gibbons | Road to CFB

A few chants you'll hear include "Hoo-Hoo-Hoo-Hoosiers!" and spelling out Indiana at various points throughout the game.

After the game, return to the tailgates scattered throughout the neighborhoods surrounding the stadium and campus. As Hoosiers fans boast, Indiana fans never lost a tailgate. While a strong claim, IU backs up the hype with impressive tailgating that goes toe-to-toe with almost any Big Ten school in terms of scope and passion. I left thoroughly impressed.

A final touch to the day: legend Joey "Jaws" Chestnut participated in an eating competition against several IU Marching Hundred members (and, of course, won that challenge).

#16 Indiana 56, Nebraska 7

Brett Gibbons | Road to CFB

Indiana periodically fields competitive football teams. In 2020, they rostered future NFL first-round QB Michael Penix Jr. and went 6-2 in a shortened COVID season. After firing Tom Allen, IU hired Curt Cignetti, who led James Madison to a 19-4 record in its first two years as a member of the FBS. In an introductory pep rally, Cignetti called out both Ohio State and Michigan, a clip that went viral.

Coming into this Week 8 game, Indiana was 6-0 and ranked 16th in the country. The Hoosiers played a light schedule, but otherwise backed up the offseason talk. And on this day, IU further cemented its case as a team to be reckoned with.

Ohio transfer QB Kurtis Rourke (who I last watched play in his final game as a Bobcat) led an onslaught of scoring, but suffered a thumb injury late in the game. Fans couldn't believe the beatdown in front of their eyes – Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola (a Patrick Mahomes impersonator on the side) was befuddled and made multiple mistakes. Big plays and a consistent stream of success on both sides of the ball kept IU fans engaged.

Tickets the day of soared over $150 just to get in, but I grabbed these weeks ago under $60 apiece. The seats were great and the atmosphere was explosive.

Indiana Game Day Grades

Brett Gibbons | Road to CFB

Stadium: B. Recent renovations bring Memorial Stadium into the 21st Century. Spacious concourses make for easy navigation and restrooms at every section is clutch. There's no real bad seats in the house and I love stadiums that tie in to campus; Memorial Stadium definitely does that. I like this stadium quite a bit.

Tradition: B. The Hoosiers moniker goes beyond a team mascot. Folks at IU are proud to be Indianan and state pride is palpable. Hep's Rock is a great tradition and I love that it's now accessible to fans. The Walk is as good as any and the Marching Hundred (or, really, 160) is a strong marching band. The hull and guns of the U.S.S. Indiana outside the stadium is also a unique touch, especially for a non-service academy. The proverbial (and maybe literal) cherry on top are the candy stripes – iconic and immediately recognizable.

Atmosphere: B+. I managed to catch a rare Indiana sellout that was actually over capacity. The crowd stayed through the rout and soaked in the success. It was loud and energized – everyone was more than happy to see the Hoosiers roll Nebraska. On your average IU game day, it's probably far less electric, but I'm taking it at face value. Memorial Stadium was exciting!

Tailgating: A-. Widespread and packed! I was told by many Indiana fans that the tailgating scene is consistent and that IU has "never lost a tailgate." Probably the most pleasantly surprising part of the game day was the tailgating. These folks know how it's done.

Fans: C. People are going to take offense to this, but so be it – Indiana fans are extremely fair weather. I lucked out seeing a full stadium but that's rarely the case. The phrase, "act like you've been there" doesn't apply. The team is rolling at the moment, and most fans want you to recognize it and give them their flowers. It borders on obnoxious, but points for their current passion.

Extracurriculars: B. B-Town is a great college town with an excellent bar scene and quiet neighborhoods. Just an hour southwest of Indianapolis, Bloomington sits near a major metro. However, with such a terrific college town, there's no reason to leave during the year. The bars are unique and fun and I'd highly recommend staying after the game to experience them.

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