College Football Program Off to Historic Start After Week 5 Victory

The Indiana Hoosiers are off to a historic start to the 2024 college football season with a 42-28 win against the Maryland Terpins on Saturday.

Despite committing four turnovers to the Terps, Indiana put up 510 yards of total offense, including 359 passing yards from senior quarterback Kurtis Rourke. The team currently sits at No. 11 in the country in total offense after finishing 105th in 2023.

It was unclear what to expect from the Hoosiers entering the first season under Curt Cignetti, who helped build James Madison into an FCS powerhouse before the program jumped to the FBS in 2022. Cignetti took the job in place of Tom Allen after leading the Dukes to an 11-2 season in the Sun Belt.

Indiana had won just nine games in the last three seasons combined. But after moving to 5-0 on Saturday, the Hoosiers have already surpassed their win total from last season (4). It is Indiana's first 5-0 start since 1967 and the most wins by the program in a season since 2020 (6).

Indiana's start has not only been perfect, but also dominant. The Hoosiers have outscored opponents by a margin of 244-65, an incredible start for a program that was picked to finish 16th in the preseason Big Ten media poll .

Now, with conference wins over UCLA and Maryland under their belts, the Hoosiers are in a great position with a tougher slate ahead. Indiana will welcome the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Oct. 19 and the Michigan Wolverines on Nov. 9. There is a real possibility that the Hoosiers will be undefeated when they make a trip to Columbus to take on the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes on Nov. 23.

But that is down the road. Cignetti and company will first need to take care of the Northwestern Wildcats next week to keep the winning streak alive.

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