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Curt Cignetti Lets Grant Wilson Rip as Indiana Beats USC 27-13

No. 9 Indiana beat No. 18 USC 27-13 in Bloomington on November 14. Curt Cignetti started Grant Wilson at quarterback, and the seventh-year senior threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns, opening up an offense that had gone conservative.

By Alistair Sterling

November 15, 20262 min read

Curt Cignetti Lets Grant Wilson Rip as Indiana Beats USC 27-13

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti lets Grant Wilson throw deep, and the No. 9 Hoosiers beat No. 18 USC 27-13 on Saturday, November 14, at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana. The win moves Indiana to 9-1, 6-1 in the Big Ten, and all but locks the reigning national champions into the 12-team College Football Playoff.

Wilson, a seventh-year senior who previously played at Old Dominion and Fordham, threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns in front of 54,336 fans. It was his first start in two years. Cignetti is now 36-3 at Indiana.

The decision on Wilson

Cignetti benched no one in a hurry, but he had been leaning toward the change for two weeks. He said he went to bed after the October 31 overtime win over Minnesota thinking he would turn to Wilson over Josh Hoover. He woke up feeling the same.

Wilson had replaced Hoover at halftime in that game and made the throws that forced and won overtime. Hoover, who has been playing through an upper-body injury, was active Saturday.

Wilson said Cignetti told him the news at practice in the most direct way possible. "He pulled me to the side at practice, and he goes, 'You're gonna go with the ones,' and then he turned around and walked away," Wilson said.

Deep ball opens the offense

Indiana had scored just 37 points in regulation across its previous three games. Cignetti said the offense had been "playing in a tent" and that the team hated it. "We wanted to play to win and attack, not play with any fear," he said.

Wilson delivered a 65-yard completion to Nick Marsh in the first half and a 47-yard pass to Shazz Preston. He completed three passes of more than 40 yards in all.

The night was not clean. Wilson threw an interception late in the first half that set up USC to tie the game at 10-10.

The decisive moment came with 3:36 left. Indiana led 20-13 and faced third-and-3 from the USC 42. Wilson lofted a 42-yard touchdown to Charlie Becker, and the game was effectively over.

Becker said he is happy for his quarterback. "He's got a beautiful (deep) ball," he said, adding: "I'm so proud of him."

Cignetti has not committed to Wilson beyond this game. Asked whether he would stay the starter, he said: "We'll evaluate it this week as we go."