The Runout: Previewing Indiana football’s Week 2 game against Western Illinois

BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football isn’t just playing Western Illinois on Friday night. 

“You are fighting human nature,” coach Curt Cignetti said during his weekly appearance on Inside Indiana Football. 

Cignetti was referencing the fact that Western Illinois comes to Memorial Stadium riding a 25-game losing streak that dates back to 2021. The program has changed coaches three times since its last winning season in 2017. 

Indiana football built up a bit of momentum with a 31-7 win over FIU in the opener, but Cignetti wants to make sure his team doesn’t get tripped up by overlooking a clearly inferior opponent. 

More: Will Indiana football WR Donaven McCulley be available against Western Illinois?

Jump into our weekly preview, The Runout, for what stood out during the week, players to watch, a prediction and more:

Indiana football vs. Western Illinois: Tale of the tape

• When: Friday, Sept. 6 at 7:00 ET
• Where: Memorial Stadium (52,626), Bloomington, Indiana
• TV: Big Ten Network
• Line: N/A
• Series: This is the first meeting between the programs

More: What are the most important stats from Indiana football’s win over FIU? Consider these

Indiana football players to watch vs Western Illinois

Myles Price, WR

Price has been looking for his second career 100-yard receiving game since 2021. He first reached the milestone when he had nine catches for 175 yards for Texas Tech in a win over Iowa State. 

He might not be able to surpass that total on Friday night, but the speedster should be in line for a big day against a Western Illinois secondary that gave up 394 passing yards in its season opener against Northern Illinois.

Price, who had four catches for 29 yards, forced three missed tackles in the opener. 

He’s going to be hard for the Leathernecks to contain in the open field — their defense combined for 11 missed tackles — and gave up four receptions of 20 yards or more through the air for 173 yards and three scores. 

Trey Wedig, OT

Indiana’s offensive line had a strong showing in the run game. 

The group consistently won at the point of attack and played with a physicality that’s been lacking the last few seasons. Things weren’t as clean when IU dropped back to pass, and Wedig struggled more than the rest of his linemates.

The Hooisers gave up six quarterback pressures in the season-opener and Wedig gave up half of them, according to Pro Football Focus. He had the lowest pass-blocking rating among the starters at 48.2 on 35 snaps. 

Some growing pains were to be expected considering Wedig hadn’t played tackle in a game since 2022, but a bounceback performance would help give him some confidence with a UCLA team with a much more imposing defensive front on deck. 

The Bruins had five sacks and 11 tackles for loss in their opener against Hawaii. 

Andrew Turvy, DE

Turvy played more snaps in the season-opener than his first two seasons at Indiana. 

He played the fourth most snaps of IU’s defense ends ahead of scholarship players like Jacob Mangum-Farrar (11) and Venson Sneed Jr. (11). He was plenty productive as well with three quarterback pressures including a sack.

Will Turvey be a one-hit wonder or land a permanent spot on the two-deep? The role is there for the taking since the Hooisers don’t have a ton of depth at defensive end behind Mikail Kamara and Lanell Carr. 

More: Curt Cignetti said not to expect too many freshmen to play. He meant it.

Indiana football: Week 2 Odds and Ends

▶ Tip of the cap: Indiana football tackled pretty well for a team that only went full contact in practice one time during the offseason. Cignetti was pleased with how IU’s defense swarmed to the ball — he said they consistently had  “multiple hats at the point of contact” — and it was a key factor in limiting FIU to just three explosive plays. 

▶ Heavy plate: Indiana’s starting safeties Shawn Asbury II and Josh Sanguinetti were basically interchangeable on Saturday. The Hoosiers also had multiple guys on the defensive front (Mikail Kamara and Marcus Burris) rotating between defensive end and tackle. Those roles could change week-to-week based on defensive coordinator Bryant Haines’ game plan, but he clearly values versatile players that allow him to throw different looks at the competition.  

▶ “Inexcusable”: Indiana was called for nine penalties for 80 yards in the opener and seven of those were called on the offense. Cignetti addressed the topic after the game, during his press conference on Monday and again on his weekly coach’s show. He said the team had some issues with penalties during a pair of scrimmages during fall camp as well. It’s clear the offense isn’t getting a mulligan on those miscues and have to clean things up in a hurry to tamp down Cignetti’s frustration. 

Indiana football stat of the week

▶ 25: Here’s a bit more on Western Illinois’ lengthy losing streak — the Leathernecks haven’t won a game since beating Illinois State 38-31 on Oct. 30, 2021, their average margin of defeat during the streak is 29.8 points and they have only played four one-possession games.

More: Mind Your Banners: Defense shines IU’s season-opening win against Florida International

Indiana football quote of the week

 “We’re up 21-0, as a coach that’s where you really got to do the job. Not being satisfied, keeping the hammer down, really being on the kids trying to detect any relaxation or warm fuzzies,” — Indiana coach Curt Cignetti on Inside Indiana Football

Herald-Times prediction: Indiana 58, Western Illinois 10

Western Illinois has given up 50-plus points in its last four matchups against FBS opponents going back to the 2022 season. The Hoosiers should be able to hit that number for the first time since 2021 against Idaho without having to keep their starters in the game for much more than a half. The first-team defense shouldn’t have to strain too hard to get a shutout either. The focus will be on staying healthy and getting some youngsters reps. 

Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.