IU Will Raise the Victory Flag Against Northwestern If...

Written by Sammy Jacobs

After every win the Indiana Hoosiers raise the Victory Flag high over Memorial Stadium. The No. 23 Indiana Hoosiers (5-0,2-0) are hitting the road as they take on the Northwestern Wildcats (2-2, 0-1) at Martin Stadium in Evanston, Illinois. The Hoosiers have not won in Evanston since 1993, here is what it is going to take to end that losing streak.

1. Defuse the T.N.T.

After every turnover Northwestern’s defense force they play ACDC’s T.N.T. as tribute to their motto of tackling and turnovers. The Hoosiers do not want to hear that song on Saturday. IU turned the ball over four times against Maryland, their first four turnovers of the year. The conditions will be much better on Saturday, but Northwestern's defense is the best defense IU will have faced this season, by far. The Wildcats have forced three interceptions and two fumbles in four games this season and have 12 sacks and 19 tackles for loss.

2. Don’t Leave Points on the Field

The Hoosiers have done a great job of cashing in their red zone trips for touchdowns in 2024. IU has scored touchdowns on 83-percent of their trips inside the red zone (25-30) and have settled for two field goals. Scoring 90-percent of the time inside of your opponent’s 20-yard line is really good. However, the best way to help keep a big underdog in the game is leaving points on the field and settling for field goals. Northwestern’s offense struggles to score even 20 points a game. If IU can cash in for touchdowns, this game could be put away early.

3. Block Out the BS

Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti will not let his team fall for the rat poison. The Hoosiers have been the talk of college football as the surprise team. They are ranked for the first time since 2021 and many pundits are looking at them as a sleeper to make the College Football Playoff. That stuff may be easy to tune out if you stay off the internet. However, IU is dealing with several key contributors, mainly on special teams, hitting the transfer portal this week, most notably Donaven McCulley. Players like Nahji Logan, Tyreek McDaniel, D.J. Warnell and Joshua Rudolph all entered the portal as well and provided key depth and snaps on special teams. While nobody is blaming them for playing by the whacky rules of college football, it can be a distraction. IU needs to block out the BS.

4. Make Northwestern One Dimensional

The Wildcats have yet to click on offense and do not really appear to be close to clicking. They have some talent on that side of the ball with AJ Henning and Bryce Kirtz at receiver and Cam Porter at running back. The bad news for Northwestern is Porter could be out again Saturday after missing the Washington game a couple weeks ago with an injury.

Sophomore Jack Lausch will get the start at quarterback after Mike Wright was benched. Lausch has struggled completing just 48-percent of his passes and throwing two interceptions. He has had time to improve over Northwestern’s bye week. Lausch can also use his feet to get upfield and make plays. If IU can take away the running game and make Northwestern throw the ball, it’ll allow IU’s defense to get after a young quarterback making his third career start.