2024 Indiana Hoosiers football team

The 2024 Indiana Hoosiers football team represented Indiana University Bloomington during the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Hoosiers were led by first-year head coach Curt Cignetti. They played home games at Memorial Stadium located in Bloomington, Indiana as members of the Big Ten Conference.
This season marked the first time Indiana hosted a Saturday College GameDay in school history, doing so in a game against Washington. Following a 20–15 home win against Michigan on Week 11, the Hoosiers achieved the first 10-win season in program history, as well as their first 7-win season in conference play. Their 10-game winning streak was snapped in Week 13 after a 38–15 road loss to No. 2 Ohio State.
Although the Big Ten Conference has not held an official preseason poll since 2010, Cleveland.com has polled sports journalists representing all member schools as a de facto preseason media poll since 2011. The 2024 poll was released on July 22, 2024 with Indiana projected to finish 17th overall in the Big Ten standings.
The 2024 Big Ten Media Days were held on July 23–25, 2024 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. Coverage of the event was televised on the Big Ten Network and Fox Sports App. Curt Cignetti (HC), Justice Ellison (RB), Aiden Fisher (LB), and Mike Katic (OL) were in attendance to talk to the media on July 25, 2024.
Curt Cignetti was coaching his first game at Indiana after leading James Madison to an 11–1 record the previous season. The opening line had the Hoosiers as 25.5-point favorites over FIU for their home season opener at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana. The Hoosiers would go on to beat FIU 31–7. Cignetti became the first Hoosiers head coach to win their debut game since Bill Lynch did so against Indiana State in 2007.
Indiana was a 44.5-point favorite entering the game against FCS Western Illinois. At halftime, the Hoosiers were up 42–3 before dismantling the Leatherbacks defense in the second half, outscoring them 35–0. The Hoosiers broke multiple school records in the 77–3 victory. Cignetti became the fourth Hoosiers head coach to win their first two outings since 1948. Their 77-point outbreak broke a record that stood since 1901 when Indiana beat Franklin College 76–0. The Hoosiers also put up 701 yards of total offense which broke the previous school record of 692 yards set in 2013 against Purdue.
The pregame line set Indiana as 3.5-point favorites over UCLA, who was making their Big Ten Conference debut after leaving the Pac-12 Conference. The Hoosiers jumped out with a 14-point lead at the end of the first quarter and they never looked back, beating UCLA by a final score of 42–13. Cignetti became the first Indiana head coach since Bill Lynch in 2007 to win their first three games. The 29-point victory was the largest margin the Hoosiers had beat a Big Ten opponent by since they beat Northwestern 34–3 in 2019.
The pregame line set Indiana as 28.5-point favorites over the visiting Charlotte 49ers. After finishing the first half with a 31–14 lead, the Hoosiers never let Charlotte score again. Their 21 unanswered points in the second half made way for a 52–14 Hoosiers win. Cignetti became the first Indiana head coach to start their tenure 4–0.
Indiana entered the game as 7.5-point favorites over conference-foe Maryland. The game was tight at half time with Indiana clinging to a 14–7 lead, but the Terrapins were right there for most of the third quarter with both teams scoring 14 points to make it a 28–21 advantage to the Hoosiers going into the fourth quarter. Indiana would score 14 unanswered points before Maryland would find the endzone with 2:55 seconds left in the game. After a three-and-out on Indiana's next possession, Maryland would get the ball with 2:25 left in regulation. The IU defense would make a stop on fourth down giving Indiana the ball back with 1:00 left in the game. Kurtis Rourke would kneel the ball twice as Indiana came away with their first 5–0 start since 1967. Indiana also improved to 3–0 in the conference. It also marked the first time Indiana had beaten Maryland since 2020 and the first time Indiana had scored 30+ points in five straight games since 2000.
No. 23/24 Indiana came into the game against Northwestern as 12.5-point favorites. After starting slow but eventually getting going, Indiana had a 17–10 lead going into halftime. The teams then exchanged touchdowns in the third quarter. After a field goal by Indiana to start the fourth, the Wildcats answered with a touchdown to cut the lead to 27–24. Indiana would then score the last 14 points to beat Northwestern 41–24. Indiana would improve to 6–0.
No. 16/18 Indiana came into the game against Nebraska as 6.5-point favorites. The Hoosiers also played host to Fox Big Noon Kickoff. Indiana opened the scoring with two touchdowns before Nebraska scored one of their own. The Hoosiers went into the locker room with a 28–7 lead, but their starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke sat out due to a thumb injury. Tayven Jackson stepped in and led the Hoosiers to 28 unanswered points to defeat the Cornhuskers 56–7. The 49-point victory tied the largest margin the Hoosiers had beaten a Big Ten opponent in school history which was accomplished when Indiana beat Minnesota 49–0 in 1945. Indiana's record would improve to 7–0.
No. 13/13 Indiana entered as 5.5-point favorites over Washington, last year's national runner-ups. The Hoosiers would make history with Bloomington, Indiana playing host to ESPN College Gameday for the first time. With starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke out after having surgery on his thumb, Tayven Jackson made the start for the Hoosiers. On Washington's second possession, D'Angelo Ponds picked off Will Rogers and returned it 67 yards for a pick-six. The teams exchanged touchdowns in the second quarter before Nicolas Radicic hit a 19-yard field goal with no time remaining to extend IU's lead to 17–7 going into the break. The Hoosiers would score 14 points in the second half while the Huskies could only manage to score 10. With the Hoosiers 31–17 win, Indiana improved to 8–0 matching the best start in program history which was accomplished in 1967.
No. 13/13 Indiana came into the Battle for the Old Brass Spittoon as 7.5-point favorites over Michigan State. Starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke returned from injury after having surgery on his throwing thumb. Spartans kicker Jonathan Kim opened up the scoring, hitting a 47-yard field goal. This marked the first time all season that the Hoosiers have trailed. Aidan Chiles would connect with Nick Marsh on the issuing possession for an 18-yard touchdown to put the Spartans ahead 10–0 going into the second quarter. Indiana would not let them score the rest of the game. After scoring three straight touchdowns in the second to put them ahead 21–10 going into halftime, the Hoosiers added to the total, scoring 47 unanswered points to beat the Spartans 47–10. The Hoosiers improved their undefeated start, moving to a program record 9–0 (6–0). Their 6–0 conference record matched the 1967, 1987, and 2020 seasons for most conference wins in program history. This also marked the first time Indiana had won nine straight games. The Hoosiers held Michigan State to –36 rushing yards which set a program record for lowest rushing total allowed. This was also the seventh time Indiana scored 40+ points in a game this season, which set another program record.
No. 8/8/10 Indiana came into the game as 14.5-point favorites against Michigan, last year's national champions. Michigan's Dominic Zvada started the game with a field goal before Indiana scored a touchdown of their own to make the score 7–3 going into the second quarter. Indiana would score another touchdown and add a Nicolas Radicic field goal to go up 17–3 heading into halftime. Zvada would add two more field goals to cut the lead to 17–6 entering the fourth quarter. With a chance to tie it up, Kalel Mullings ran for a 1-yard touchdown to pull Michigan within two with 9:35 left in regulation. The Wolverines would go for two but the pass would fall incomplete. The teams would exchange punts on the next two drives, but with 2:34 left in the game, Radicic hit a 41-yard field goal to put the Hoosiers ahead by five. Michigan regained possession with 2:29 left on their 21-yard line. Davis Warren would pick up one first down on a 7-yard pass to Tyler Morris to get it to the 33-yard line before the two-minute timeout. Warren would come out of the timeout throwing three straight incompletions, setting up for a do-or-die fourth down play. Warren would complete a pass to his tight end Peyton O'Leary at the 37-yard line. O'Leary would dive for the first down at the 40-yard line, needing to make it to the 43, but would come up a yard short, turning the ball over on downs with 1:35 left in the game. After Ty Son Lawton ran for eight yards to start the drive, Michigan used their first timeout of the half hoping for a stop. On the next play, Kurtis Rourke faked the handoff and ran for a 4-yard gain to give Indiana the first down they needed to seal the game. With their 20–15 win over Michigan, Indiana increased their program-best start to 10–0 (7–0), becoming the last Big Ten team to have a 10-win season. They also set a new program record by improving to 7–0 in conference play.
Key: POS: Position, SOLO: Solo Tackles, AST: Assisted Tackles, TOT: Total Tackles, TFL: Tackles-for-loss, SACK: Quarterback Sacks, INT: Interceptions, BU: Passes Broken Up, PD: Passes Defended, QBH: Quarterback Hits, FR: Fumbles Recovered, FF: Forced Fumbles