“Waffle House” and “The Touchdown Machine” Shine in Victory Over Northwestern

Written By: Ben Gillard (@benjgillard)

The Indiana offense struggled early on Saturday vs. Northwestern. Whether it was concerns over the windy conditions on Lake Michigan or respect for Northwestern’s talented defense, the Hoosiers came out conservative on their first two drives. Indiana failed to convert a 4th and 2 on their opening drive and went 3 and out on their second drive.

These struggles were short lived, however, as the Hoosiers drove 89 yards down the field and scored a touchdown late in the first quarter. IU never looked back, as the Hoosiers scored points on the rest of their six drives, extending their streak of games with 40+ points to five.

A large portion of the Hoosiers offensive success was due to their talented wide receiver corps, led by Junior Elijah Sarratt. Nicknamed “Waffle House” because he’s always open, the James Madison transfer ended the game with 135 yards on 7 catches. Sarratt proved himself to be incredibly difficult for the Northwestern secondary to bring down, as 56 of his 135 yards came after the catch. When asked about his toughness after the game, Sarratt said, “You’ve got to play the game of football with a level of toughness. I come from a football family…I’ve been around football my whole life, and it's just instilled in me. I like making that play for my team whenever I can.”

Sarratt also came up big on critical downs for the Hoosiers on Saturday. When asked what about his connection with Kurtis Rourke allows him to be so dependable on 3rd and 4th down, Sarratt said, “Just trusting each other, I try to be where he wants me to be at the perfect time, and the O-Line’s gonna get blocking for him, and he’s putting the ball right where I want it, so I can’t thank him enough.”

While Waffle House was always open on Saturday, he wasn’t the only wide receiver who had a big game against the Wildcats. WR Ke’Shawn Williams, who gave Sarratt the nickname “Waffle House,” also had a big game. Williams, who has earned the nickname “The Touchdown Machine” for his success in the red zone, had one of his best games of the season. The Touchdown Machine ended the game with 87 yards on 4 catches and a red zone TD that has become a familiar sight for Hoosier fans this season. After the game, Williams echoed Sarratt’s comments about their connection with QB Kurtis Rourke, saying, “It’s just trust. We’re just making sure we practice hard and we take every rep seriously, so that way when we get into a game there’s no speed difference; there’s no change of mindset; we know what it takes to get the job done, and we do that.”

Williams definitely knew what it took to get the job done in the third quarter, as he hauled in a pass from Rourke and showed the toughness running for 52 yards. When asked about what he saw on this play after the game, Williams said, “I just blacked out and ran. I’m just trying to do whatever I can to just keep making the most out of every opportunity I get.”

IU’s wide receiving corps certainly made the most of every opportunity they got on Saturday, combining for 380 yards through the air as the Hoosiers became the first FBS school to be bowl eligible this season.