Peach bowl turns physical as Kaelon Black takes control for Indiana

Brian Schaible

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Peach bowl turns physical as Kaelon Black takes control for Indiana image

Kaelon Black didn’t need game film to explain Indiana football. He explained it himself.

Ahead of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, the Indiana Hoosiers running back spoke with the same edge that later showed up on the scoreboard, when his touchdown pushed Indiana in front of the Oregon Ducks, 21–7.

“We take a lot of pride in breaking an opponent’s will,” Black said. “We can’t spend too much time dancing around, going east and west. The fastest point to form a straight line is going straight.”

That straight-line mentality has defined Indiana’s rise. Black praised Oregon’s front seven, calling their defensive line and linebackers “really fast,” but framed the challenge without hesitation. “Those improvements definitely show on tape,” he said. “We definitely have our hands full.”

At the center of it all is head coach Curt Cignetti, whose influence Black described as constant and uncompromising. “Coach Cig’s leadership is one of those things that’s easy to get behind,” Black said. “He wants to see his guys improve, make those strides to become better players and better men at the end of the day.”

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That discipline shows up in the details. Indiana’s ball security has been elite, something Black described in almost sacred terms. “You can’t get a play started without the ball,” he said. “You have the whole program in your hands, the whole fan base in your hands, and you can’t let ’em down.”

With a Heisman-winning quarterback in Fernando Mendoza and a punishing run game, Indiana has become brutally balanced. Black insists it’s not about perception.

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“It just comes from wanting to be better,” he said. “Now that we’re in this position, we have no choice but to get better.”

Later, under the Peach Bowl lights, he proved exactly what that means.

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