The Hoosiers show up and roll FIU, but where did all the fans go?

Nothing new here, but it's still an issue. IU fans (especially the students) stick around for the first half, then take off for the next party. The only way to fix this? Win. And win big.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – For the most part, new IU coach Curt Cignetti was reasonably pleased with the way his Hoosiers played in a ho-hum 31-7 victory over Florida International Saturday at Memorial Stadium. There were some missed throws, too many penalties (nine, eight on the offense), a quiet offensive second half after IU ran up a 21-0 lead late in the first half. Kurtis Rourke, the transfer quarterback, was solid if unspectacular and the running game was productive, rolling up 234 yards on the ground. Good, not great. Workmanlike, let’s just say.

But there was an issue: Cignetti began to address it in his post-game press conference, only to bite his tongue before he shared the totality of his thoughts.

The fans.

Where’s they go?

Especially the students on the east side of the stadium, who filled the joint to start the game, then disappeared at halftime of a semi-competitive 21-7 game with FIU getting the ball to start the second half.

There is nothing new about this; IU fans are known for being heroic tailgaters before, during and after the game. For reasons that boggle my mind, IU allows fans to leave and return later (not likely) with pass-outs. I don’t know how other schools handle this issue, but at IU, it’s a problem and it’s one that needs to be addressed. I almost felt bad for the cheerleaders, who stood on the field late in the game and implored the fans to make noise.

They looked up and saw mostly empty bleachers.

IU has added lots of bells and whistles to the game-day experience, vastly improving the concessions, among other changes. But when IU students want to party, they’re gone. Somewhere, there’s a keg with their names on it. They got their Marlboro “Cignetti” shirts Saturday – OK, not politically correct, but you get the idea -- made a show of it for one half and then headed back to the revelry back on Kirkwood, or wherever.

“There’s a lot of things we’re trying to change here,” Cignetti said. “Another thing we’re trying to change in tradition is we’ve got to keep the people in the seats after halftime. We need to create a Power Four environment in the stadium…”