Written By Nick Gonzales

Week One has come to a close for the Hoosiers and they made sure not to disappoint. Indiana defeated FIU in a 31-7 victory on Saturday. Everyone was excited to see what Curt Cignetti would do with this team and he has shown that the Hoosiers have the abilities to keep on winning. It was immediately recognizable based on how well the Hoosiers ran the ball. While the offense performed fairly well, there is still a lot to improve.

To start the first half, the Hoosiers jumped up 21 to nothing and were immediately clicking. Even though Indiana put up 10 points and shut out FIU in the second half, Cignetti was disappointed by their efficiency.

“We have to play better. I was disappointed the way we played when we jumped up 21-nothing.” Cignetti stated during the post-game press conference.

Cignetti wasn’t the only one who was disappointed in the number of points the offense put up. Starting running back Ty Son Lawton also believed the offense could’ve played better.

“I wasn’t really satisfied with the amount of points the offense put up. I felt like there were definitely opportunities to put more on the scoreboard,” Lawton responded on how he felt about the overall performance of the team during a postgame interview.

While there are some things they can improve on, let’s focus on what went well in the offense. For starters, IU’s running backs are legit and Cignetti gave them the recognition they deserved in his post-game press conference.

“There was some nice creases and some nice cuts, nice chunks, and now we gotta take the next step and with a little bit better down-field blocking or breaking a tackle here and there, those 12 and 13-yard gains become 25 and 30 and 40.” Cignetti answered when asked about the rushing attack.

The Hoosiers put up 234 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns against FIU. To lead the charge was JMU transfer Ty Son Lawton. Lawton didn’t have any idea he earned the starting position until walk throughs on Friday when he was in a group with the starters. Lawton showed his ability to be a starting RB by putting up 74 yards and 2 touchdowns on 16 carries. He also attempted a pass for a touchdown during the game but missed.

While Lawton has the starting job, he also mentioned that Coach Cig would run a three-back rotation at JMU, which will likely continue over the course of this season. And in that trio is Justice Ellison, a Wake Forest transfer, who most people thought would be the starter at running back, but still made some great plays. Ellison carried the ball 10 times and recorded 68 rush yards. He also caught a pass for 19 yards during a play on 4th and 4.

The biggest surprise out of the running backs was Elijah Green, a transfer from North Carolina. Green didn’t play much until near the end of the game, but he was excellent. Even Cignetti was amazed at his performance.

“I was really impressed with Elijah Green that last play. I mean, he broke through with a 2-0 line and showed speed and burst, and they couldn’t catch him.” Cignetti replied during his press conference.

Green carried the ball only 5 times for 82 rushing yards and a touchdown. The majority of his yards came off of a huge run in the final minutes of the game that went for 51 yards. He showed he can be a big factor in the Hoosiers run game and Lawton said “it’s a blessing to have the guys that we have.” Indiana’s running back core showed that they can command the offense efficiently and lead them to victory.

While the Hoosiers could’ve put up more points against FIU, they’ll have next week against Western Illinois to show how dominant they can be.

The Huddle

Hoosiers Use Their Stable of Running Backs to Pound FIU into Submission

Hoosier Huddle