Numbers that Mattered: Washington Huskies

Written by: Nate Comp (@NathanComp1)

Numbers drive so much in today’s world and the sports world is no different. Now more than ever teams are hiring and building analytics teams to get every edge possible over their opponents. Over the course of the season, we’ll look into many of those numbers following the Hoosiers’ matchups each week. 

Today, we examine the numbers behind Indiana’s 31-17 win over Washington that moved them to 8-0 through two-thirds of the regular season.

93.5

It is hard to imagine having won this game without the stellar play from D’Angelo Ponds. Ponds absolutely locked down the Washington receivers he was going up against, allowing just one catch on the four times that he was targeted. He also added two interceptions, one of which he took all the way back for a touchdown to kick off the game’s scoring. He allowed a 0.0 passer rating and earned a 93.5 coverage grade per Pro Football Focus for the performance.

“You know, he's got good talent, but he's got competitive character,” said Cignetti on Ponds after the game. “He's a competitor, and he wants to be great. He's got day in, day out consistency. He does the things that help him improve on a daily basis, and that's his goal. He wants to be the best football player he can be, and he loves the process and everything that goes into that, and he's intelligent. He comes from an area down there in Miami where those guys growing up, high school, a lot of pride down there in South Florida about being a baller, and he's a baller.”

0 and 0

Coming into the game with the backup quarterback Tayven Jackson getting the start, it was critical to have great offensive line play. Indiana got exactly that, helping bolster its run game and give its less-experienced quarterback the time he needed to get through his reads. The offensive line unit finished the game having allowed zero sacks and zero tackles for loss. They had one penalty all game – the false start on the very first drive.

“You know, Bob does a great job coaching them [the offensive line],” said Cignetti. “They're all real tough, hard-nosed kind of guys, and they function well together. Bob keeps it simple, and we don't have missed assignments, things of that nature. They're tough guys.”

87-0, 104-62, 80-31, and 101-20

You often hear about a team’s ability to perform in certain time periods throughout a game. That team always starts fast, or, This team is always great out of the halftime locker room. Well, through eight games this season, Indiana can say this about every single quarter. The Hoosiers have currently outscored their opponents in every single quarter: 87-0, 104-62, 80-31, and 101-20, in the first, second, third, and fourth quarters, respectively. Certainly, those opening and closing quarter numbers stand out. After the first quarter this week, Indiana had held Washington to just 13 total rush yards, they were one-for-five on third down, they had registered two sacks, and Ponds had added the one interception.

10-0 and 8-0

Curt Cignetti continues to act as if it is all expected, but he is setting records. On Saturday, he became the first ever D1 head coach to start 8-0 in consecutive seasons at different schools – he started 10-0 at James Madison last season and now has the Hoosiers off to an 8-0 start this year.

“I mean, you are what your record says you are,” said Cignetti. “Believe me, we're going to put that tape on, and it ain't going to be real pretty a lot of times on offense and it won't be on defense, either. There will be a lot of mistakes out there. But not off to a bad start, I guess.”

Saturday, November 2nd, 2024, at 3:30PM EST

Represents the Hoosiers next game coming up this week on the road against Michigan State. Stay tuned all week for more content from Hoosier Huddle previewing the matchup.