It’s impossible to exist without experiencing some level of boredom. The repetitive chore of folding clothes is only sort of bearable when watching a television show. Sorting through a crowded email inbox rivals the equally insufferable task of watching paint dry. A seemingly never-ending red light at a busy intersection is known to test even the most patient souls.
Still, there’s something oddly comforting about the mundane. It’s expected. There aren’t any surprises. In a world full of crazy, boredom offers calmness.
Indiana football’s 56-6 victory over UCLA on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington was just that.
The Hoosiers entered the matchup as 25.5-point favorites against the Bruins, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, but many thought the spread was a misleading indication of the game’s competitiveness. After starting the year 0-4, UCLA turned its season around with a midseason coaching change with interim head coach Tim Skipper taking over at the helm. Following the switch, the Bruins recorded three straight wins.
The Bruins were hot. It took two plays for Indiana to cool them off.
On the second play from scrimmage, UCLA redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava threw a pick-six to senior linebacker Aiden Fisher, setting the tone for a long afternoon for the West Coast visitors.
I’ll concede that a pick-six isn’t the textbook definition of boring, but the electric first act of the Hoosiers’ convincing performance was an outlier. For the remainder of the first half, there weren’t any explosive deep passes, special teams shenanigans — aside from a botched Bruins fake punt — or highlight catches.
Indiana junior quarterback Fernando Mendoza finished the contest with just 168 passing yards, the fewest he’s had in any game this season. That’s not a bad thing. In fact, in this case, it’s good. Mendoza didn’t rack up crazy high numbers through the air because he didn’t need to. By the time he came out of the game late in the third quarter, the Hoosiers led 49-3.
The Cream and Crimson dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. On defense, the Hoosiers made Iamaleava’s day miserable and lived in the backfield. Offensively, Indiana’s front paved the way for substantial gains on the ground.
“Today was one of those days where the run helped us get a lot of the success,” redshirt senior running back Roman Hemby said postgame. “It feels good to have the offense rely on us.”
It wasn’t watching paint dry, but it was boring.
Looking forward, Indiana will have its fair share of yawn-worthy games. The Hoosiers’ remaining regular season matchups are against Maryland, Penn State, Wisconsin and Purdue — four teams with a combined one win in Big Ten play.
While those games could very well feature a heavier dose of Mendoza — for his Heisman Trophy hopes they’ll have to — chances are they’ll share a similar result as Saturday’s contest: a lopsided final score.
It’s amazing the difference one year can make.Last season, Indiana was college football’s biggest story. The underdog Hoosiers continuously exceeded expectations but couldn’t shake that pesky title. They were always the underdogs, even in the College Football Playoff, where the season came to a close with a 27-17 loss to the University of Notre Dame. That’s not the case for head coach Curt Cignetti’s team this season.
Indiana no longer needs to be the story. The Hoosiers can be boring. After all, it's a feeling the program is all too familiar with. Here’s the difference: If you’re a team fighting for bowl contention each season, boring isn’t ideal. But if you’re the No. 2-ranked team in the Associated Press’ poll, boring is excellence.
Look no further than Mendoza, the Hoosiers’ Heisman-hopeful signal caller.
“Personally, I delete all my social media,” Mendoza said. “The only social media I have on my phone right now is LinkedIn and YouTube.”
Jokes aside, it's the exact mindset Indiana has shown in its rise to the highest national ranking in program history. The Hoosiers have kept the outside noise out. Indiana’s ability to be a cohesive unit is its biggest strength.
Cignetti understands the importance of complementary football and how crucial it is to have all three phases of the game working in sync with one another. It’s why he started his postgame press conference with a simple three-word sentence.
“Great team win,” he said.
How much more boring could it get?
Follow reporters Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and columnist Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa and qmrichar@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
