In first real test this season against Maryland, Indiana football showed its mettle

BLOOMINGTON — Entering week five, the biggest knock against Indiana football was its lack of a real test.

The Hoosiers steamrolled through their first four weeks of the 2024 season. But that group included just one Power Four opponent — UCLA, which was expected to finish in the bottom half of the Big Ten — and one of the worst FCS teams in the country in Western Illinois. IU looked excellent in those games, and set itself up well for the rest of the year. But those teams rarely, if ever, forced Indiana to face difficult moments. And the schedule was always going to get tougher, particularly in the second half of the season.

Indiana was tested on Saturday for the first time this season, by both wet and windy conditions and a tough Maryland team. And it wasn’t completely smooth. The Hoosiers faced real adversity, something entirely foreign to them before this game. But they cleared those obstacles and passed this test, rather convincingly. Their 42-28 win at Memorial Stadium gave IU (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) its best start since 1967.

“There were a lot of good responses in that game. The defense responded to offensive turnovers. The offense responded to touchdowns given up by the defense. We responded more than they did,” IU head coach Curt Cignetti said after the game. “There was really a lot that went on in that game. There’s no doubt about it. Winning is good because it deepens belief in confidence and success, which leads to confidence and belief, which leads to success. You’ve still got to put the work in, but strengthens that confidence and belief.”

Maryland (3-2, 0-2) presented Indiana with plenty of challenges. Billy Edwards Jr. is the best quarterback Indiana’s faced so far this season. Wide receiver Tai Felton led the Big Ten in receiving entering Saturday by over 300 yards. UMD’s defensive line is the biggest and deepest IU has seen so far.

The Terrapins aren’t the best team on the Hoosiers’ schedule this season, but they came into the season expecting to contend for a fourth straight bowl game. This was Indiana’s first opportunity to truly prove itself and show that the undefeated start isn’t because of a soft schedule, but because this is just a good football team. And IU did exactly that. The offense played with physicality and explosiveness that Maryland couldn’t match. The defense made things difficult for Edwards, kept Felton quiet before he left the game with an injury in the third quarter, and mostly shut down Maryland’s run game.

“Coach (Bryant) Haines talks about it: we haven’t really been tested as much as we’d like so far,” linebacker Aiden Fisher said. “We kind of prepare that we’re going into war each week, and we got that today.”

Matchup aside, the Hoosiers had to overcome adversity in this game. As well as they’d played through the first four weeks, they had not yet needed to show their mettle. But that changed quickly Saturday, when quarterback Kurtis Rourke threw interceptions — Indiana’s first turnovers of the season — on IU’s first two possessions of the game.

Rourke said he was still able to grip the ball well despite the bad weather. The giveaways were simply uncharacteristic mistakes for the Ohio transfer and his offense. But he didn’t dwell too long on those plays and moved on quickly. Indiana’s defense pitched three-and-outs after both turnovers, and after Maryland’s second punt, Rourke led the offense on a 12-play, 83-yard touchdown drive.

“He responded like I kind of felt like he would. I didn’t think he’d be flustered by the two interceptions, and he wasn’t,” Cignetti said. “He’s a grizzly old vet.”

Indiana committed two more turnovers after the early interceptions, on fumbles by running back Kaelon Black (second quarter) and Rourke (fourth quarter). IU’s defense stepped up in those situations — Maryland didn’t pick up a single first down on its four possessions after turnovers.

The Hoosiers defense played well, on the whole. But they, too, weren’t perfect. Maryland racked up 401 yards of total offense on Saturday — none of IU’s first four opponents topped 260. And Indiana made a few crucial mistakes that could’ve changed the game.

During the second quarter, the Terps faced second and 31 at their own 41-yard-line after three straight penalties and an Indiana tackle for loss. But a clear pass interference on cornerback Jamier Johnson squandered Indiana’s strong positioning and brought Maryland back to first and 10. Two plays later, UMD receiver Kaden Prather blew past IU cornerback D’Angelo Ponds for a 33-yard touchdown that tied the game, 7-7.

Later, during the third quarter, the Terps took over at their 25-yard-line after IU regained a 21-14 lead on a Justice Ellison touchdown run. But their possession didn’t last long. On the first play, Terps running back Roman Hemby took a handoff through a big hole in the Indiana defense and ran, untouched, 75 yards for a touchdown.

Moments like that can swing momentum in games. But IU’s defense regrouped quickly after those mistakes: the next Maryland drives after both touchdowns ended in three-and-outs.

This is how good football teams perform. Perfection is an impossible standard; these players are human, and mistakes happen. Bad teams allow errors to compound and turn into bigger problems. Good teams correct their problems and quickly move on from them.

Plenty of teams have the talent to win, but lack the mentality and attention to detail that winning requires. And plenty of teams do those little things correctly and approach games the right way, but are overpowered and overmatched against superior opponents.

Indiana’s performance against Maryland, with the way it responded to adversity time after time, adds to a growing case that this team has both the talent and mettle to turn this 5-0 start into a special season.

“Everyone kept their heads up on the sideline, people still communicating, no one put their heads down. We responded,” defensive end Mikail Kamara said. “We had turnovers, we had the one-play touchdown and things like that, where that’s usually when losing teams would probably get down on themselves, start arguing, and that’s when the gap opens up. But we handled it really well.”

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