Indiana Dominates UCLA; First Big Ten Opening Win On The Road Since 1990

Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty

PASADENA, Calif. — Indiana and new head coach Curt Cignetti announced themselves to the rest of the revamped Big Ten Conference as an opponent to be taken seriously this season on the historic turf of the Rose Bowl on Saturday.

Off the sensational quarterbacking ability of Kurtis Rourke and the virtually brand-new supporting cast around him, the Indiana Hoosiers flummoxed the UCLA Bruins 42-13.

“We played hard and physically, and did a lot of good things,” Cignetti said in a short and sweet summation of the game afterward.

Indiana started strong, driving the length of the Rose Bowl grass on the first drive of the ballgame. Rourke hit pass after pass and converted four 3rd downs going 12 plays for 75 yards capped off by a touchdown pass to Miles Cross. Following a fumble by UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers on the Bruins’ first play from scrimmage that was recovered by IU, the Hoosiers added another touchdown with Ke”Shawn Williams on a short pass from Rourke.

By midway through the 2nd quarter, the Hoosier owned a 21-0 lead off a 12-play, 95-yard drive. Justice Ellison squeezed his way into the endzone capping off the long drive. It was an IU effort for which UCLA appeared to have no answer.

The Bruins finally got on the board late in the first half with Garbers engineering a 78-yard drive leading to a T.J. Harden touchdown.

Down 21-7 at the half, the Bruins had some work to do and appeared ready to do it as they came out swinging on the first drive of the second half. Going 65-yards, the drive would stall thanks to some immense pressure but the IU defense, even though it came at the cost of a targeting call on pass rusher C.J West. It was a call that this reporter will politely call “questionable.”

UCLA settled for a short field goal cutting the IU lead to 21-10. Undaunted by the new life shown by UCLA, the Hoosiers drove yet again going 87-yards for Ke’Shaun Williams’ second TD catch of the night making it 28-10 Indiana.

The Bruins drove right back, with some help from more “questionable” officiating calls, resulting in another field goal cutting the score to 28-13 early in the 4th quarter.

With 13:13 left to play, Indiana held the ball with the task of holding the lead while milking the clock as dry as they could make it. Rourke, reminiscent of his first drive of the night kept hitting pass after pass to a variety of receivers. The final play of the drive saw Rourke air it out, with an impending offside penalty coming, 23 yards to Omar Cooper for his fourth touchdown pass of the night.

Rourke finished the night with 307 yards and four touchdowns on 25-of-33 passing.

“If we can protect him and get guys open he’s going to stick it in there,” Cignetti said of Rourke.

A demoralized UCLA had no answer from there on out as Amare Ferrell caught a late interception leading to yet another scoring drive for IU. Holding firm, the Hoosiers walked out of the Rose Bowl with a 42-13 victory, their first win ever inside the iconic football stadium. It’s also the first time the Hoosiers have won a Big Ten opening game on the road since beating Northwestern 42-0 in 1990.

“Great atmosphere tonight,” Rourke said. “We all want to win. We all came here to win and that starts with Coach Cignetti. We don’t want to get complacent. We’ve a got good thing going here and we want to keep it going.”

Justice Ellison and Ty’Son Lawton led the Hoosiers running the football, Ellison going for 47 yards and a touchdown with Lawton adding 33 yards on the ground as well. It was a big night for Miles Cross who caught six passes for 90 yards and a touchdown. 

The IU defense came away with two sacks and an interception. Indiana did not turn the ball over once, now going three games in a row without a turnover.

The Hoosiers have put the rest of the Big Ten on notice with this victory and hope to keep that notice front and center as they return home to face Charlotte at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington next Saturday. They will resume Big Ten play against Maryland at home on Sept. 28.