Indiana football last faced Western Kentucky University in Bloomington four years ago. The Hoosiers won 33-30 following a walk-off 51-yard field goal in overtime. It was one of Indiana’s four wins in 2022.
A lot has changed since.
The Curt Cignetti-led Indiana is currently riding an 18-game win streak heading into its matchup against Western Kentucky on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. The Cream and Crimson have not lost at home since November 2023 and are currently the No. 4 team in the nation.
“Their head football coach (Cignetti) is one of the best in the business,” Western Kentucky head coach Tyson Helton said during a press conference Monday. “He is really a guy that knows what he wants. He knows what the blueprint to winning is. He knows the personnel that he needs to win.”
Helton was the Hilltoppers head coach during the 2022 overtime game and now, they will see a much different Indiana team Saturday. Helton has seen how this transformation came to fruition.
“They’re doing everything right, and it’s glaring,” Helton said. “It shows top to bottom from the president to the alumni base to the head football coach to his staff to the players. Everything fits and everybody is in line and everybody is pulling in the same direction. And that’s why you see the tremendous success that they’ve had.”
Western Kentucky enters Saturday’s matchup in search of its first win of the season. The Hilltoppers opened their year with a 49-14 loss to the University of Nevada, Reno. Last week, Western Kentucky faced the No. 2 University of Georgia, with the Bulldogs notching a 70-20 victory.
Despite a 50-point loss, Western Kentucky’s offense displayed an ability to drive downfield in Week 2. The Hilltoppers gained 17 first downs and garnered 110 rushing yards.
Redshirt sophomore Rodney Tisdale Jr. and redshirt junior Brock Glenn have battled for Western Kentucky’s starting quarterback position. Tisdale earned the start in each of the Hilltoppers' first two games but struggled in both. The Jacksonville, Florida, native threw for 203 yards and zero touchdowns against Nevada.
Tisdale followed this performance with a 6-of-14 showing in Athens, Georgia, before being benched in the second quarter. Helton turned to Glenn for the remainder of the game.
Glenn led the Hilltoppers to three touchdown scoring drives, completing 12 of 23 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown. He was also the team’s leading rusher against the Bulldogs, recording 70 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Helton noted “both will probably play,” but it is unclear who will earn the start against the Hoosiers.
Indiana’s clear goal
Western Kentucky presents Indiana with its final test before Big Ten competition begins. Cignetti wants his team to build momentum heading into conference play.
“But they’ve (Western Kentucky) struggled obviously in their first two games,” Cignetti said during a press conference Monday. “The goal is to continue to make them struggle.”
Indiana enters Saturday with a 2-0 record after victories over the University of North Texas and Howard University. Cignetti was displeased with the Hoosiers’ defensive performance in Week 1 against North Texas but acknowledged his team was “back to how we used to be” following a 55-0 win over Howard.
North Texas recorded 152 rushing yards and 367 total yards against Indiana. But the Hoosiers bounced back, surrendering just 57 total yards in Week 2 and 1.2 yards per play to the Bison the following week.
“I think it was just more of our attention to the detail, just being intentional with our tackling, communication, everything like that,” seventh-year defensive back Preston Zachman said Tuesday. “All the little details, we weren't very clean the first week. We were a little sloppy. I think we made good improvement, and we had to continue to do that.”
Indiana’s offense has been consistently dominant through its first two games, scoring a touchdown on 14 of its 19 total drives. After rushing for 134 yards in their season opener, the Cream and Crimson were more successful on the ground in Week 2, accumulating 296 rushing yards.
The Hoosiers have a prime opportunity to continue their offensive efficiency Saturday. Western Kentucky has allowed over 480 yards to each of its first two opponents and 119 total points to begin the season.
Cignetti said Saturday’s game will be a chance to learn about the identity of his team heading into Big Ten play.
“But we still have nine or 10 plays ODK (offense, defense, kicking) as a team that are negatives,” Cignetti said. “Negative plays that we need to eliminate before we start Big Ten play and beginning with this week against Western Kentucky.”
Kickoff between Indiana and Western Kentucky is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday with coverage on Peacock.
Follow reporters Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and Nathan Shriberg (@NShriberg and naashri@iu.edu) and columnist Elakai Anela (@elakai_anela and eanela@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
