Is Indiana ready for prime time?
Technically the Hoosiers already proved they are. Despite playing in only five bowl games since 1993 and going 3-24 in conference play over the last three seasons, NBC curiously put them in the Big Ten’s prime-time slot Saturday against conference newcomer UCLA.
It was Indiana’s first trip to the Rose Bowl stadium since Jan. 1, 1968, when the Hoosiers lost to USC and O.J. Simpson in the “Granddaddy of Them All,” and the real reason for their appearance before a national TV audience was the Bruins playing in their first Big Ten game. With Ohio State, Penn State and USC all having the week off, there was no must-see matchup in Week 3.
Still, watching Indiana blow out the overmatched Bruins 42-3 and celebrating like it was New Year’s Day was a strange site to see. Of course, these are strange days for the Big Ten with the addition of four former Pac-12 teams and an 18-team race for the conference title with no divisions. That means we won’t have to see the likes of Iowa or Purdue in the Big Ten championship game solely because they played in the perennially weak West Division.
Hiring former James Madison coach Curt Cignetti to replace Tom Allen looks like a genius move by Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson. The Hoosiers have scored 150 points in their three wins, including 77 against Western Illinois, and have yet to be really challenged.
Quarterback Kurtis Rourke, a sixth-year veteran and transfer from Ohio University, threw for 307 yards and four touchdowns Saturday. Defensive lineman Mikail Kamara, a James Madison transfer who followed his coach to Bloomington, Ind., recovered a fumble on UCLA’s first play from scrimmage and paced a defense that held the Bruins to 238 yards.
Hoosiers fans who made the trip to Pasadena, Calif., chanted, “Cig, Cig, Cig,” near the tunnel after the game. They weren’t looking for smokes.
“It will open some eyes because it was on national TV,” Cignetti said afterward. “And that’s it. I mean, it’s one game. We came out here and got done what we wanted to get done. I’m not into labels (like) ‘They’re a top-15 team.’ At the end of the year we’ll see what our resume looks like. But there is no one in our locker room (who is) surprised.”
Indiana plays host to Charlotte on Saturday in its final nonconference game, then starts the Big Ten schedule with two winnable games against Maryland and Northwestern. The Hoosiers could be 6-0 by the time they host Nebraska on Oct. 19.
It’s way too soon to look ahead, but for a team with a reputation like the Hoosiers, it’s nice to be noticed for once. If they’re still in the race in November, the real test would come near the end of the season when they play Michigan at home on Nov. 9 and, after a bye week, travel to the Horseshoe to play Ohio State on Nov. 23.
Notable newcomers
It will take some time to get used to having Oregon and USC as Big Ten powers, but those who were worried the inclusion of the former Pac-12 teams would lead to the ruination of college football were overblown. It just means more watchable matchups for us to pay attention to in the regular season.
USC is the rare school that schedules two tough nonconference opponents instead of padding its schedule with a couple of cupcakes and one reasonably difficult foe. The Trojans beat LSU in the opener and play traditional rival Notre Dame at the Coliseum in their last game.
They’ll take on Michigan on Saturday at the Big House in Ann Arbor, Mich., in what seemed like a huge game when the schedule was released. But the Wolverines were hammered by Texas and looked unimpressive Saturday in a 28-18 victory over Arkansas State.
Coach Sherrone Moore benched starting quarterback Davis Warren after three interceptions, replacing him with junior Alex Orji. Warren has six picks in three games and could be replaced by Orji for the Big Ten opener. USC was listed as an early 6½-point favorite.
Oregon, meanwhile, rebounded from a last-second win over Boise State to paste archrival Oregon State 49-14 on Saturday in Corvallis, Ore., in the 128th meeting of the rivalry that no longer is called “The Civil War.”
With Oregon moving to the Big Ten, the schools decided to continue the rivalry through at least 2025. They agreed in 2020 to stop referring to it as “The Civil War” in the wake of the murder of George Floyd.
The Ducks started the season ranked No. 3 but fell in successive weeks after lackluster showings against Idaho and then Boise State, dropping to No. 9. They moved back up a spot to No. 8 in Sunday’s new poll.
Quarterback Dillon Gabriel, perhaps the conference’s best chance to win the Heisman Trophy, was 20 of 24 for 291 yards against the Beavers and had a 64-yard touchdown run.
“I always tell the O-line, if you give me the time, I’ll do the crime,” Gabriel said after the win.
A week off gives Oregon a chance to breathe before starting Big Ten play. The Ducks should be 2-0 in the conference after games with UCLA and Michigan State before hosting Ohio State on Oct. 12 in Eugene, Ore., in what could be a preview of the Big Ten title game.
Husker hype
Half of the Big Ten teams remain unbeaten heading into Week 4, including Nebraska and Illinois, who meet Friday night in Lincoln, Neb.
Nebraska is “the team to watch in the Big Ten,” according to Fox play-by-play man Gus Johnson, who is no stranger to hyperbole. ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit said on “College GameDay” that Nebraska was a “stock to buy now.”
Sure, we heard this last September about Colorado in the Pac-12. Nonconference wins often are a mirage.
But the Cornhuskers do have a potential star in the making in true freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola, who was 17 of 23 for 247 yards and two touchdowns Saturday in a 34-3 rout of Northern Iowa. He has drawn comparisons to Patrick Mahomes because of his looks and pregame rituals, which imitate the Kansas City Chiefs great.
Raiola said he grew up playing baseball and never liked football and wants to be known as his own man.
“I’ve had this haircut since seventh grade and didn’t really know about Mahomes then,” he said. “If that’s what people want to say, that guy is one of the best, so it’s cool.”
Raiola should be tested Friday against an Illini secondary led by cornerback Xavier Scott, who has helped Illinois get off to its first 3-0 start since 2011.
We’ll find out if one or both of these teams are for real under the Friday night lights.
