Kaelon Black launched off his right foot. His body soared three yards through the air while his arms extended the football across the pylon.
Indiana football’s redshirt junior running back tumbled to the turf and looked left, watching as the zebra-striped referee signaled for a touchdown, the Hoosiers’ sixth of the day.
Black sat on the ground, his reaction stoic — almost as if he and the rest of Indiana’s offense has grown accustomed to scoring touchdowns. In reality, it has.
“We just think ‘score, score, score, score,’” Black said after the game. “We think that every time we get the ball.”
Indiana scored in bunches Saturday, strolling past the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in a 52-14 triumph inside Memorial Stadium. The Hoosiers are now 4-0 for the first time since 2020, while Curt Cignetti became the first head coach in program history to go undefeated in his first four contests.
And the offense — which is led by offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan, though Cignetti joked postgame it’s his system — is a key reason why.
After a difficult second half in the season opener against Florida International University on Aug. 31 during which their starters had as many unsuccessful drives as points scored, the Hoosiers’ offense has rolled. Indiana scored a program-record 77 points in Week 2, 42 points on the road against UCLA in Week 3 and 52 points Saturday.
Over the past three games, Indiana’s starting offense has played 21 drives, excluding clock-killing possessions at the end of halves and games. The Hoosiers scored touchdowns on 19 of them and kicked a field goal on another. They’ve failed to score just once — a turnover on downs in the first half at UCLA.
“I just think it's a real group effort,” Cignetti said postgame. “We're not afraid to throw something up there — our guys are quick learners. We have a lot of experienced players who understand football and can handle a pretty heavy plate and if you can execute it, you're just going to put the defense in more conflict.”
Indiana entered Saturday ranked No. 6 in the country in points at 50 per game and No. 12 in yards per game with 515. The Hoosiers nearly replicated both marks Saturday in their 510-yard performance.
With 202 points, Indiana is only 5 points away from its 12-game total in 2021 and not far behind its 266-point output last season. The Hoosiers’ offense is exploding — and getting production from a deep crop of playmakers.
Sixth-year senior quarterback Kurtis Rourke has no shortage of weapons. The team’s leading receiver through the first three weeks, redshirt sophomore wideout Omar Cooper Jr., caught only one pass for 11 yards. The passing attack still flourished.
Rourke finished the game 16-of-20 for 258 yards and a touchdown. Senior wideout Myles Price had a game-high 77 receiving yards, while fifth-year senior Miles Cross caught a team-best five passes.
Senior receiver Ke’Shawn Williams caught four passes and a touchdown, his third in the past two games, while junior wideout Elijah Sarratt hauled in three grabs for 47 yards.
On the ground, Indiana rushed for 222 yards and six touchdowns on 41 attempts. No player had more than 10 carries, but five — Rourke, Black, seventh-year senior Ty Son Lawton, fifth-year senior Justice Ellison and redshirt junior Elijah Green — found the endzone Saturday afternoon.
The Hoosiers’ playmaking depth has been displayed often this season.
“It’s awesome,” Rourke said postgame. “Being able to have that abundance of talent around me, it helps in every aspect, being able to know you can hand the ball or throw the ball to athletes on the outside and know we’ll have a good chance of getting yardage and touchdowns.”
Indiana’s offensive progress is perhaps best represented by Rourke, who threw for just 180 yards in the season opener. Since then, Rourke said he’s improved his eyes and field vision and feels more comfortable in the pocket.
Much of the reason for this evolution stems from the Hoosiers’ practices at Mellencamp Pavillion. Rourke said the preparation process remains the same each week, regardless of the opposition, and Price believes it’s a formula geared toward winning.
“Every day, we bring that intensity to practice, no matter how we feel,” Price said. “We come out ready to work, and it's obviously showing up on Saturday.”
Cignetti has mentioned several times the Hoosiers have a veteran-heavy roster, which Price said helps the installation process before each game. Such experience allows Indiana to install plays as close as two days prior to kickoff and be utilized that weekend.
The experience also gives Indiana’s veteran skill position players an innate understanding of what this offense can accomplish. Rourke said he’s excited the Hoosiers have shown everyone else the talent they brought in this offseason, while Price is pleased that talent has turned into production.
“Just our ability to move the ball down the field,” Price said. “I don’t want to say it’s been easy, but almost it feels like it’s been easy to move the ball up and down the field. So really happy about that. Everybody’s doing their job.”
Indiana finished its nonconference slate Saturday, and it’s worth noting the three non-Big Ten schools it played — Florida International, Western Illinois University and Charlotte — have a combined record of 2-8.
But the Hoosiers’ convincing win over UCLA coupled with dominating victories in the other three gives Cignetti a strong base to build from moving forward.
Next week, the real season starts. Indiana hosts Maryland (3-1) at noon Sept. 28 inside Memorial Stadium, kicking off an eight-game stretch of Big Ten games to close the campaign.
Yet even with heightened competition, Cignetti expects his offense to keep rolling.
“We have a lot of guys on offense that have played successful winning football,” Cignetti said. “And now they're taking it to the Big Ten.”
Follow reporters Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) and Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and columnist Jhett Garrett (@jhettgarrett) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
