Indiana coach Curt Cignetti gave his team a simple message at halftime: relax.
The Hoosiers responded.
Josh Hoover threw two touchdown passes, Lee Beebe Jr. added two TD runs and No. 4 Indiana overcame a sluggish first half to blow out Western Kentucky 38-0 on Saturday.
Read more: Cignetti: defensive progress, but questions remain
Hoover was 18 of 24 for 273 yards with no turnovers as Indiana (3-0) extended the Football Bowl Subdivision’s longest active winning streak to 19 games, and the longest active home winning streak to 18. Turbo Richard rushed 15 times for 149 yards and one score, and Charlie Becker added five catches for 127 yards and another touchdown.
“Usually in these kinds of situations when were’ not quite where we want to be against a team that most people think we’re better than — and we are — I just talk to them and say, ‘Let’s play our game. Just relax,’” Cignetti said.
The Hoosiers’ defense has posted back-to-back shutouts, and it has not been scored upon since late in the third quarter of their season opener against North Texas. That side of the ball also set up a 98-yard TD drive with a goal-line stand in the first half.
The defending national champs sure didn’t look like themselves in the first half, though. The Hilltoppers (0-3) had a nearly nine-minute advantage in possession time and limited Indiana’s offense to just seven points through the first 29 1/2 minutes.
The game swung when Western Kentucky quarterback Brock Glenn was picked off on third-and-5 by Isaiah Jones, who returned it 21 yards to the Hilltoppers 3 with 1:07 left in the first half. Beebe scored two plays later to make it 14-0.
The Hoosiers took control in the second half.
Indiana opened it with a 21-yard field goal, followed with a 79-yard TD pass from Hoover to Becker, and Beebe’s 2-yard TD run made it 31-0 with 1:38 left in the third quarter. Western Kentucky never recovered from the onslaught.
“We needed to go out there and put a drive together to get our defense rejuvenated in the second half,” Western Kentucky coach Tyson Helton said. “It’s hard to keep going out there if you’re going three-and-out, three-and-out.”
Glenn was 17 of 32 for 120 yards with one interception for the Hilltoppers. He also rushed 11 times for 30 years.
Nick Marsh had his biggest day as a Hoosier, catching seven passes for 81 yards.
Western Kentucky: Helton came into the game with a simple goal: stay close for as long as possible. The Hilltoppers accomplished that for more than a half. While they remain winless after facing No. 2 Georgia and the Hoosiers in consecutive weeks, the good news is the schedule will get easier.
Indiana: Cignetti improved to 30-2 with the Hoosiers, becoming the eighth of the program’s 30 all-time coaches to reach the 30-win mark. But they’re going to have to execute much better when they begin their Big Ten title defense next week, and they’re unlikely to move up in the Top 25 after such a lethargic first half.
Indiana played without defensive linemen Stephen Daley and Kellan Wyatt, who started on last year’s title team, because a temporary restraining order allowing them to play expired this week. Daley and Wyatt are now awaiting a new ruling from Monroe County Circuit Court in Bloomington. Each sustained a season-ending injury before last year’s playoff run. Neither was drafted or signed with an NFL team. They’re part of the 2022 freshman class seeking a fifth year of eligibility.
The game was stopped with 6:22 left when Western Kentucky offensive lineman Karsten Upchurch was hurt. He was placed on a backboard and taken off the field on a golf cart. It wasn’t clear how Upchurch was injured, but players and coaches for both teams took a knee and his teammates offered their support before he left the field.
“It looked like he had a back injury of some kind. I’m not sure. I haven’t talked to our doctors yet,” Helton said. “He was moving, he was talking, hopefully, he’s going to be OK.”
Western Kentucky: Hosts Mercyhurst next Saturday in its home opener.
Indiana: Begins conference play Friday night against Northwestern.
