BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Each week at Hoosiers On SI we make a score prediction on the Indiana football game and suggest three keys to the game.

Since this was my first go-around with the prediction and three keys – hi, I’m Todd Golden, the new guy at Hoosiers On SI – I thought it would be fun to revisit this after the game to see how well I did. Or how poorly. Or whether the truth is somewhere in-between.

Indiana won 31-7 over Florida International on Saturday at Memorial Stadium in a game that deviated very little from what was expected.

The ease of victory was considerable, but will the devils in those details serve up a tasty plate of satisfaction? Or a big plate of humble pie? Read on and find out.

Let’s start with the predicted three keys:

1. Protect Kurtis Rourke

Statistically, it seems that Indiana was passable in this department. FIU sacked Rourke twice, and the Panthers were credited with two quarterback hurries. Rourke dropped back to pass 24 times, so while that ratio isn’t perfect, it’s also not a major concern.

Anecdotally, it seemed like Rourke was under a bit of pressure at times, but are looks deceiving?

In its grades of the game, Pro Football Focus said Rourke was under pressure on 27.6% of his passing plays and that he was pressured eight times overall. Not constant pressure by any means, but enough to rush a few throws.

PFF.com also noted that Rourke was never hit as he threw and that of the six quarterback pressures it counted? Three came from right tackle Trey Wedig’s side of the field.

Given all of that, you’d have to say Indiana succeeded while also wondering what protection will be like against a more formidable opponent.

2. Shut down FIU’s run game

This was an unequivocal success for the Indiana defense.

FIU gained just 53 rushing yards and averaged a paltry 1.8 yards per carry. In the third quarter? FIU’s rushing total was minus-6 yards.

In college football, quarterback sacks count in the rushing total, and that can often skew the rushing stats. But even if you take out the 24 yards FIU quarterback Keyone Jenkins lost in sacks, the Panthers were still well below 100 team rushing yards.

As I wrote, this made FIU predictable. Jenkins, to his credit, completed 20 of 29 passes for 129 yards. But with the run game stopped, Indiana piled on the pressure and constantly had Jenkins on the run.

3. Be patient, because FIU might wear down

This never really came into play given that the Hoosiers were in control by the final period.

As we wrote in the three keys story, one of the things that stood out for FIU in 2023 was its fourth quarter scoring plunge. The Panthers scored just 25 points in the fourth quarter in 12 games last season.

Indiana kept FIU off the scoreboard in the second half, although the Panthers did have 75 total yards in the final period. Reserves were on the field for part of the quarter, so this key never really achieved relevance.

Score prediction

On Friday, I wrote this:

“I don’t think it’s going to be a coronation for Indiana, but I also don’t think it’s going to be a nail-biter either. Indiana has too much talent to burn, especially on the offensive side of the ball. The anticipation level is always high for the first game, but it will be more so as the lid-lifter on the Cignetti era.

With so many players on the roster who have proven they can win? I think those 13 James Madison transfers will show the way in an exciting, but measured, style of play.”

Just call me Nostradamus. Had the tenor of the game just right. Those JMU transfers were indeed impactful, especially on the defensive side.

The soothsaying was going well – until “Nostradamus” got carried away peering too far into my crystal ball.

“Indiana also has the playmakers to press FIU into turnovers. I think the Hoosiers force at least three on Saturday.”

Indiana forced one, an Amare Ferrell interception off of a tipped pass by D’Angelo Ponds. In fact, Indiana was fortunate that neither of the fumbles Rourke lost flipped the turnover margin in FIU’s favor.

As for the score? I predicted a 41-21 win for Indiana. I was close on the margin, but I over-estimated Indiana’s offense (and FIU’s for that matter) and under-estimated Indiana’s defense.

We’ll give it all another go next week.

Only two teams beat the Indiana Pacers three times last season — the Chicago Bulls, who are a weaker squad, and the champion Boston Celtics. Even the best teams couldn’t consistently beat Indiana, but Boston was a different beast.

In the postseason, the Pacers and Celtics met again, and the series ended in a sweep. Indiana may have taken down Boston twice during the regular season, but in general, the Celtics had the Pacers number. They’re a terrific team. They won the title for a reason.

After acquiring Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis last summer, Boston was set up pretty well to be at the top of the association for a year or two. Since then, they extended Jaylen Brown’s contract, extended Jayson Tatum’s contract, extended Holiday’s contract, and found ways to pay the rest of their talent on fair contrats. The Celtics are set up to be great as long as their financial situation will let them.

That made their 2024 offseason extremely straightforward. After winning a championship and having a core locked up, Boston just needed to keep everyone that was important and minimize their losses. They were able to do so, and it was fairly pain free.

As of this writing, the only two departures for the Celtics in the summer of 2024 are former Pacers forward Oshae Brissett and guard Svi Mykhailiuk. Neither of them were in Boston’s nightly rotation last season, and they didn’t play much in the playoffs. They were replaceable.

Instead of those two, the Celtics have added Baylor Scheierman (via a first-round draft pick) and Lonnie Walker (via free agency). Walker may not be around when the season comes, but those two fill an open forward and guard spot from the Celtics departures.

Elsewhere, Boston’s rotation is the same. Holiday, Tatum, Brown, Derrick White, Porzingis, Xavier Tillman, Sam Hauser, Luke Kornet, Neemias Queta, and Al Horford are all back. That is, on paper and in practice, the best rotation in the NBA.

Boston’s offseason was fairly trivial as a result. They have an amazing team and they were willing to keep everyone — so they did. They should be considered the championship favorites for the coming season.

In fact, after the offseason in Boston, the Celtics should be thought of as potential favorites for the next few seasons. In just the last four months, Holiday and Tatum have added to their deals. In the offseason, the front office kept Hauser and White on longer deals. The core of the champs are all locked up for the next few years.

They will be tough for anyone, including the Pacers, to topple. Indiana’s up-tempo style did give the Celtics fits at times, and their playoff series was closer than the 4-0 result suggested. But Boston will continue to grow. Indiana will have to improve to keep up.

The Celtics offseason was simple. If they were willing to pay all of their players, they should have. And that’s what President of Basketball Operations Brad Steven did. Boston’s roster is back together, and they will be hard for the Pacers to take down in the coming seasons.

Authorities in northwest Indiana on Saturday afternoon were conducting an “extensive search” for the person wanted for stabbing a teenage girl in the hand at a baseball field.

The incident happened at the baseball fields in Lowell behind the VFW 6841 post, 17401 Morse St., according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Department. A “dark-skinned male with long hair,” stabbed a 14-year-old girl before being chased into the woods, sheriff’s officials said.

Sheriff’s patrol deputies, detectives, department K-9s and aviation units were working with several surrounding law enforcement agencies in searching for the suspect. The alleged stabber could be in the company of other men and should be considered armed and dangerous, police said.

Residents in the immediate area were being asked to keep their homes and vehicles locked and notify police of suspicious activity. Anyone who sees the suspect was urged to call 911 immediately.