Indiana University Football Opens the Curt Cignetti Era Saturday Afternoon
A new era of Indiana University Football kicks off Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium when the Indiana Hoosiers host the Florida International Panthers at 3:30pm with the game televised on the Big Ten Network. 63-Year-Old Curt Cignetti takes over a Hoosier Program who finished 3-9 overall and 1-8 in the Big Ten for then head coach Tom Allen who was let go after seven seasons with an overall record of 33-49 and 18-43 in the Big Ten.
Cignetti was named Head Coach on November 30, 2023 after spending the last five seasons as the Head Coach at James Madison University with. 52-9 Record and 31-4 conference record. Cignetti has already been a Head Coach at Indiana University in Pennsylvania from 2011-2016 with a 53-17 record for the Division II Crimson Hawks and Elon University in North Carolina from 2017-2018 with a 14-9 Record for a overall record of 119-35 13 Season as head coach. Cignetti takes over a Hoosier Program that has the most losses of any division 1 Football program with 704 losses in 137 seasons of football and the third worst winning percentage of any Division 1 team that has played over 1,000 games at 41.9 percent and no coach has left IU with a winning record in the last 60 years. The Hoosiers have won 496 games and tied 45 of them in their program History. Cignetti is a no nonsense all business and brash type of coach. He does not lack any confidence saying ” I Win, Google Me” in one of this first press conferences. He visited the Big Ten Network on Location at the Big Ten Football Championship in December saying ” I wanted to show up because we are going to be playing in this game next year”. He has built a lot excitement and anticipation for this new era of Indiana Hoosier Football and the question that everyone wants to know is can he turn it around?
The Hoosiers transformed the roster bringing in 54 new players including 30 transfers with 13 of those transfers coming with Cignetti form James Madison. Offensive Line Bob Bostad is the only holdover from Tom Allen’s staff as Cignetti brought in 9 Assistant Coaches with 6 of them coming with Cignetti from James Madison along with Derek Owings who is the Director of Athletic Performance. The Hoosiers are tied for 9th among all FBS Teams with the fewest returning players and tied for third with the fewest returning scholarship players. Indiana has four seventh year seniors which is the most in FBS. Senior Wide Receiver Donaven McCulley returns after his first full season as wide out after coming to IU as Quarterback after a great High School Career at Lawrence North in Indianapolis. McCulley had 644 yards receiving and 6 touchdowns a season ago. Offensive Lineman Mike Katic returns after he originally put his name into the NFL Draft in April before withdrawing to come back for his final season with the Hoosiers. Senior Punter James Evans enters the season as Indiana’s career leader in punting average with 43.9 yards per punt.
Among the transfers that should make an immediate impact is Quarterback Kurtis Rourke who spent five seasons at Ohio University throwing for 7,651 yards and 50 touchdowns. Rourke rushed for 1,249 yards and 11 touchdowns and was the Mid-American Conference Offensive player of the year. Wide Receiver Elijah Sarratt who played for Cignetti at James Madison caught 82 passes for 1,191 yards and 8 touchdowns and was an all-Sun Belt first team a season ago. On Defense the duo of Mikail Kamara and CJ West will be a force as the duo combined for 31.5 tackles for loss with Kamara a second team all-Sun Belt selection at James Madison and West an all-Mid-American Conference Selection at Kent State. Indiana has 10 players in the roster from the State of Florida including three from Miami.
Florida International located in Miami is coming off a 4-8 season and 1-7 record in Conference USA. Head Coach Mike MacIntyre begins his 3rd season at the school with an 8-16 record and overall record of 54-80 in 12 seasons. MacIntyre played at Georgia Tech from 1987-88 after staring his career at Vanderbilt form 1984-85 for his father George who was the head coach at Vanderbilt from 1979-1985. The Panthers have 91 players from the State of Florida and 68 from Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties. One player that Hoosier Fans will recognize is Defensive Tackle Jeramy Passmore who started his career at Indiana from 2019-20. Passmore a Miami Native redshirted in 2019 and played three games in 2020 and was 2020 Academic All-Big Ten Selection. This will be the fourth all-time meeting between the two teams with Indiana winning the previous three matchups. This will be the second trip to Bloomington for FIU since a 36-22 loss on September 12, 2015. Indiana has made the trip to Miami twice winning 34-13 on September 1, 2016, and 38-28 on September 1, 2018. FIU is 0-12 against Big Ten Teams and it’s the first time since the 2018 meeting with the Hoosiers that the Panthers are facing a Big Ten Team.
Indiana and Norte Dame Men’s Soccer battle to a 2-2 draw
The 8th Ranked Norte Dame Fighting Irish and the 12th ranked Indiana Hoosiers played to a 2-2 draw Thursday Night at Bill Armstrong Stadium. The Hoosiers are 0-1-1 on the season and host Yale Sunday Night at 8pm while the Irish drop to 0-0-2. The Irish put Indiana out of the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal after a 5-4 Penalty Kick shootout after 1-1 draw last December. The Teams played a 1-1 draw in South Bend on August 24, 2023. Indiana is 32-10-10 all-time in-home opener and leads the series record with the Irish 33-10-6 and 5-0-4 in their last nine meetings. The Hoosiers have not lost back-to-back regular season games since November 1, 2013, a streak that spans 3,954 days which is 10 Years, 9 Months and 28 Days. The Hoosiers are 822-199-117 all-time and 365-71-56 at Bill Armstrong Stadium. The Game was delayed 39 minutes from the original 8PM start time due to the IU-Wright State Women’s Soccer team being delayed three different times due to Lightning in the area. The delay did not affect the teams warming up on the adjacent practice field and once the Women’s game was completed the teams were able to start the game within 10 minutes and the crowd stuck around despite the late start.
Notre Dame got on the board when Jack Flanagan when top left past Indiana Goalkeeper JT Harms at the 42:44 mark off his left foot to give the Irish a 1-0 lead going into locker room. Flanagan made a long run up the right side going one on one with the Indiana Defender and shooting from the edge of the box for his first career goal for the Sophomore from California. The Hoosiers outshot the Irish 6-2 with both teams getting 2 shots on goal. Irish Goalkeeper Blake Kelly made two saves and Indiana Goalkeeper JT Harms made 1. The Irish committed 4 fouls and the Hoosiers committed 1. Indiana had 3 corner kicks and Notre Dame had 1 corner kick and neither team was called for offsides. Notre Dame’s Kyle Genenbacher picked up a yellow card at the 34:16 mark.
In the second half the teams combined for three goals in two minutes and 47 seconds. The Hoosiers scored twice Freshman Michael Nesci from Chicago at the 67:27 mark followed by Tommy Mihalic at the 68:02 mark. The Irish tied the game at the 69:40 mark with the goal from Kyle Genenbacher. The Hoosiers outshot the Irish 10-1 in the second half with 7-1 in shots on goal. Blake Kelly made 5 saves in the second half and JT Harms did not make a save. The Irish committed 9 fouls and IU had 3 fouls. Indiana had 5 corner kicks, and the Irish had 3 and Norte Dame was called for offsides three times in the second half. For the game Indiana outshot the Irish 18-6 with 10-4 advantage on shots on goal. Blake Kelly made 8 saves for the Irish and JT Harms two saves for Indiana. Norte Dame committed 14 fouls and IU had 5 fouls. IU had 9 corner kicks, and the Irish had 4 and the Irish were called for offsides 3 times.
Indiana University Women’s Soccer Waits out the Delays to dominate Wright State
The Indiana Hoosiers and the Wright State Raiders had to deal with three weather delays Thursday Afternoon and Evening at Bill Armstrong Stadium and were able to finally get the game in as the Hoosiers dominated the Raiders 6-0 to improve 3-0 on the season and drop Wright State to 0-3. The first delay came 22 minutes before scheduled kickoff at 4:30pm when lightning was spotted the teams had to clear the field. once the teams returned at 4:35pm they had 10-minute warm-up were ready to start 15 minutes passed the original start time and as they were announcing the starting lineups another lightning strike was spotted, and the teams cleared the field for the second time. Once the teams returned to field at 5:35 they had 8 minutes to warm up and the match kicked off at 5:45 PM which was an hour and 15 minutes after the scheduled start. Freshman Layla Sirdah scored her first career goal at the 9:50 mark with the assist from Sydney Masur after rocketing a shot from outside the box going top center off her left foot to make 1-0. Sirdah came into the match with all three assists through the first two games against Tennessee and Ball State. Right after the goal another lightning strike was spotted, and the teams cleared the field for the third time. The teams returned to the field at 6:30pm and the game was started at 6:35pm and this time the game restarted without interruption.
Once play got going the Hoosiers dominated scoring two more goals to go into the locker room up 3-0. Piper Coffield scored on a penalty kick for her first goal of the season at 35:11 mark and Graduate Transfer Avery Snead scored her first goal as Hoosier 33 Seconds later with another rocket outside the box that Wright State Goalkeeper Kiera Sarka had no chance of saving. Indiana outshot Wright State 9-1 and 5-0 in shots on goal. Kiera Sarka made 2 saves between the pipes for the Raiders and Indiana Goalkeeper Jamie Gerstenberg did not make a save. Wright State committed 3 Fouls and the Hoosiers committed 2. Indiana had 4 corner Kicks and Wright State had 2 and both teams were called for offsides twice.
In the second half the Hoosiers scored twice within a span of 1 minute and 11 seconds. Hope Parades scored her first goal of the season at the 58:34 mark and then Marisia Grzeskiak scored at the 59:41 mark with the assist from Natasha Kim. Indiana added a sixth goal at the 83:41 mark as Krista Murphy scored on the assist from Bella Haggerty. Indiana outshot Wright State 6-0 in the second half with 4-0 shots on goal. Erin Baker replaced Keira Sarka to start the second half and made 4 saves. Indiana Committed 3 fouls while Wright State committed 2. The Hoosiers had 7 corner Kicks and Wright State did not have one corner kick in the second half and the Hoosiers were called for offsides three times.
For the game Indiana outshot Wright State 19-1 with 11-0 shots on goal. Wright State’s Goalkeepers combined for 6 saves. Indiana committed 5 fouls to 4 for the Raiders. The Hoosiers had 12 Corner Kicks to 2 for Wright State and Indiana was called for offsides 5 times while Wright State had 2 offside calls. Indiana Goalkeeper Jamie Gerstenberg did not make a save and recorded her school record 27th career shoutout and second of the season. Gerstenberg moved to third on the school’s all-time wins list with 25 career wins between the pipes. Gerstenberg trails Bethany Kopel who played from 2017-22 with 30 and Merit Elzy who had 35 wins from 1994-97. Indiana leads the All-Time Series with Wright State 4-0 with all four matches taking place in Bloomington and outscoring the Raiders 12-1. The Hoosiers will be back in action Sunday Night at 7 PM when the travel to Providence Rhode Island to face the Brown Bears.
Edgewood at Home while the Bloomington Schools remain on the Road for Week 2 of High School Football
Week 2 of the High School Football Season will have Edgewood making its home debut on the Red Carpet hosting the Washington Hatches while Bloomington South travels to Martinsville and Bloomington North heads to Bedford North Lawrence. All three games are scheduled to begin at 7pm this evening. Edgewood dominated Mitchell 41-6 in the season opener as Junior Quarterback Michael Law threw for 2 touchdown passes and the Mustangs ran for a rushing touchdown, but it was defense and special teams that put their stamp on the game in the second half when Nehemiah Strunk had a kick return for a touchdown along with a fumble recovery for a touchdown. For Second Year Head Coach Scott Fischer its third career win at Edgewood and it’s first road won after winning at home a year ago to Mitchell and Brown County. Washington will be making its first regular season trip to Edgewood after the Hatches beat the Mustangs 28-0 last year. Washington beat Edgewood 32-26 in the Class 3A Sectional Semifinals on October 30, 2020, at the Mustang Corral. The Hatches beat North Daviess 49-28 at home last week as Head Coach Joe Morris is in his 5th season at Washington with an 11-31 Record.
Bloomington South beat Columbus East 27-6 in Columbus as Indiana University Football Commit Bryce Taylor kicked 2 Field Goals and Quarterback Duncan Combs threw for 2 touchdowns and Braylen Townsend rushed for one as the Panthers as Martinsville team who put up 50 on Bedford North Lawrence last week. Martinsville Head Coach Brian Duggar is 28-20 in his fifth season in charge of the Artesians and looking to beat the Panthers on home turf like they did on August 26, 2022, 27-14. Bloomington South won last year’s matchup 35-6 as the Panthers have won three of the last four meetings between these two rivals. Bloomington North will be looking to get Head Coach Anthony Lindsey his first career win after a 30-27 loss at Mooresville at week ago. Senior Quarterback Dash King was 10-19 passing for 159 yards throwing 2 interceptions and rushed 14 times for 108 yards. Noah Ferree ran 12 times for 53 and 3 touchdowns and Joe Luther hit 2 Field Goals against the Pioneers. Bedford North Lawrence is 0-1 after a 50-7 home loss to Martinsville. The Stars are looking to snap a five-game losing skid to the Cougars August 24, 2018, when they won at Home 55-38. The Cougars have won 15 of the last 17 meetings with the Stars dating back to 2005.
Indiana University Women’s Basketball to open with Columbia in the Battle 4 Atlantis The Indiana women’s basketball program will face Ivy League foe Columbia to open action at the 2024 Battle 4 Atlantis Saturday, Nov. 23 at the Imperial Arena in Paradise Island. The game will tip at 1:30pm and will air on FloHoops. The two teams will meet for the first time in the Bahamas, with Baylor and Southern Miss waiting on the other side of the bracket. Columbia earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament last season where they finished 23-7 overall. Tickets, room reservations, and further information about the Battle 4 Atlantis can be found here.
Indiana Fever win at Home Against the Connecticut Sun
For the first time since the 2021 regular season, the Indiana Fever (15-16) beat the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, 84-80. Indiana has now won six of its last eight games entering Friday at Chicago. The Fever won in front of another sold-out crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, bringing the total season attendance to a WNBA record 503,921 fans in 31 games played so far this season. Five Fever players scored in double figures Wednesday night, led again by guard Kelsey Mitchell’s game-high 23 points. Mitchell shot 8-of-14 from the floor and 4-of-7 from 3-point range for her fifth-consecutive game scoring at least 20 points to set a franchise record for the most consecutive 20-point games.
Rookie guard Caitlin Clark finished with 19 points, five rebounds, five assists, one block and one steal. Three minutes into the first quarter, Clark passed Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard to break the WNBA rookie record for the most made 3-point field goals with 88. Clark also passed Howard again for 12th place on the all-time rookie points list with 558 points heading into Friday’s game at Chicago. Fever guard Lexie Hull, who earned her second start of the season Wednesday night, added 17 points on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc, pulled down a career-high eight rebounds, dished out three assists and recorded one block to help Indiana secure the win. Fever center Aliyah Boston and forward NaLyssa Smith both recorded 10 points and six rebounds in the win. In the second quarter, Boston recorded her 1,000th career-point, which made her the fourth fastest player in franchise history to record 1,000 points in 71 games played. Boston also tied two career-highs in the win with eight assists and four steals. Former Indiana University Standout Grace Berger did not play.
Indiana started off the game with a 10-0 run early in the first quarter as Mitchell scored 11 of her 23 points in the first frame. Boston dished out five of her eight assists and the Fever as a team totaled six 3-point field goals as Indiana ultimately ended the quarter on a 22-9 run. It was the most points allowed by a Connecticut Sun opponent as Indiana led 33-26 after the first quarter. The Sun responded with a 13-5 run in the second quarter, but Indiana pushed back with a 14-5 run of its own. The Fever led, 51-42, at halftime, which marked the Sun’s second largest halftime deficit of the season. In the final quarter, Indiana made five defensive stops to end the game, and the Sun were held scoreless for the final 2:50 of the game. Indiana handed Connecticut (22-8) just its second loss following the Olympic break and broke its three-game winning streak on Wednesday night. Four Sun players scored in double figures led by DiJonai Carrington’s 19 points on 7-of-13 field-goal shooting. Carrington also tallied a career-high six steals, four rebounds and two assists. Sun forward Alyssa Thomas followed with 17 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals while Sun guard Marina Mabrey added 16 points, four assists, two rebounds and two steals off the bench. Despite the loss, Connecticut outscored Indiana in paint points, 38-28, and bench points, 20-5. The Fever will play at the Chicago Sky Tonight at 7:30pm and the game will be broadcast on ION.
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