Hoosiers break 123-year-old record in 77-3 win

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.– Indiana coach Curt Cignetti sent a message to his players this week.He expected them to play their brand name of football– from start to end up. They delivered in a record-breaking way.Kurtis Rourke tossed 2 goal passes and ran for another score– all in the first half Friday night– as the Hoosiers broke the school’s single-game scoring record with a 77-3 rout of Western Illinois that didn’t exactly visited style. “I was trying to get a lot of people into the game. We were attempting to run there and I wished to offer the 3rd quarterback a possibility to throw it as soon as, so we did what we could to keep [ball game] down, “Cignetti stated. “However I didn’t want them to play down to their basic and I thought we responded [to the message] really well.” Indiana QB Kurtis Rourke ended up 15-of-17 passing for 268 yards and 2 goals, while rushing three times for 13 lawns and another score– all in the first half of the Hoosiers ’77-3 victory over Western Illinois. Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images How uneven was it?The Hoosiers( 2-0)broke the previous mark of 76 points, set in a nothing of Franklin College

in 1901, on the extra point after Charlie Becker’s 3-yard TD run with 9:10 to play. They also set a school record with 701 overall backyards, and the margin of success was second to just that game against Franklin.Cignetti likewise ended up being the fourth Indiana coach given that 1948 to win his very first two games at the school.Western Illinois( 0-2) extended the longest losing streak in Department I football to 26 directly. The Leathernecks’ last win came Oct. 30, 2021. Editor’s Picks

1 Related This one was never close. Indiana scored TDs on each of its very first six ownerships, produced 415 lawns on 38 plays in the very first half and led 42-3 at halftime.Rourke, the 2022 Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Year, was marvelous in his 2nd game with Indiana. He completed 15-of-17 passing for 268 lawns, while hurrying 3 times for 13 backyards. Justice Ellison ran nine times for 117 yards and 2 TDs. Elijah Sarratt captured 6 passes for 137 yards, consisting of a 71-yard TD.”He was quite sharp and the receivers were making plays,”Cignetti said.Andison Coby got the scoring begun with a 38-yard TD catch on the

5th play of the game. Ellison’s 2-yard TD run made it 14-0 before Sarratt’s long scoring play. And Ty Boy Lawton’s 19-yard TD run gave Indiana a 28-0 lead late in the very first quarter.Western Illinois’only rating began a 31-yard field goal in the last minute of

the very first half.”It’s regrettable to leave to such a sluggish start here for 2 weeks in a row and not generate any

momentum on either side of the ball,” Western Illinois coach Joe Davis stated.” It simply puts us in such an enormous hole early that is tough to dig yourself out of.”Ellison sealed it with a 47-yard TD run to open the second-half scoring and kicker Nicolas Radicic’s record-breaking 11th extra point of the game gave Indiana the scoring mark.” I believed we played physical, with a nasty attitude and we were never ever satisfied,”Cignetti said.THE TAKEAWAY Western Illinois: This season certainly has actually not started

well for the just active FBS or FCS group with two straight winless seasons. Both of this season’s losses came in blowouts, and the Leathernecks have actually lost 8 of their previous 9 games by 39 or more points.Indiana: The Hoosiers are off to a strong start that has been assisted by a soft early-season schedule. Things get much tougher next week in their Big 10 opener at UCLA.POWER INTERRUPTION It wasn’t just Western Illinois doing not have power Friday night.

Throughout warmups at halftime, both of the arena’s scoreboards faded to black. After a brief delay, the refs revealed they would keep the main time on the field. A couple of minutes later, the scoreboards rebooted, revealing about 10 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter.UP NEXT Western Illinois: Check outs former conference enemy Illinois State next Saturday.Indiana: Makes its first appearance at the Rose Bowl since 1968 next Saturday versus UCLA.