Indiana’s dominant 3–0 start is being undercut by a second-half exodus of fans at Memorial Stadium. The No. 4 Hoosiers have blown out early opponents, yet the stands turn into a ghost town by the third quarter.

During their recent 38–0 blowout win over Western Kentucky, huge crowds packed the stands early, only for large sections of the stadium to empty out before halftime.

That is despite Indiana averaging around 54,000 fans across its three non-conference games, with each crowd ranking among the top 10 single-game attendance figures in program history.

The disappearing act isn’t exactly new at Indiana. For decades, IU has been known far more for its legendary basketball program than its football team. Football Saturdays have often doubled as massive social events, with fans showing up for the tailgates, catching some of the action, and then heading back to the parking lots or campus bars.

Winning hasn’t completely changed that routine, and Cignetti is clearly trying to.

The physical tickets may be sold out, but the empty seats in the second half have become impossible to ignore. Indiana has outscored its first three opponents 145–16 and hasn’t trailed at any point this season. Yet the team has often had to finish those games in front of noticeably smaller crowds.

Cignetti has already made it clear that he wants that to change, even writing open letters to students asking them to put down their homework and stick around for all four quarters.

To be fair, the coach did give the fan base a little bit of a pass for the first three games.

“We’ve played our three sauna games in the afternoon,” Cignetti said. “I can understand having to leave in the second half. Particularly when the game’s out of hand, and it’s 152 on the turf. It’s hard to coach in those games too.”

With the scoreboard already out of reach and the turf temperature soaring, it’s easy to understand why some fans might want to escape the heat.

But Cignetti made it clear Monday that those excuses are running out. “Need to have a great crowd that stays the whole game,” Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said. And this time, the Hoosiers are heading into Big Ten play under much different conditions.

Their next test comes against a 2–0 Northwestern team coming off a statement win over a power-conference opponent. Cignetti knows his team will need every possible advantage as the schedule gets tougher, especially at home.

“Northwestern’s really impressive football team,” Cignetti said. “Coach Braun has done a great job with that program. He’s a really smart, detailed, thorough guy. And it shows up on tape, very impressive in all three phases. And they do the things you gotta do to win football games.”

That late-game silence does more than just frustrate the coaching staff. Empty seats hurt Indiana’s home-field advantage during tight Big Ten matchups and signal weak culture to visiting high-school recruits. If the Hoosiers want to be taken seriously as playoff contenders, they need an energetic crowd that supports team morale for all four quarters.

The weather shouldn’t give fans much of an excuse this time, either. The game is set for the evening, with temperatures expected to sit in the low 70s. Cignetti described it as “nice, cool football kind of weather,” making the upcoming matchup a perfect opportunity for Memorial Stadium to finally deliver the atmosphere he’s been asking for.

Mind you, Hoosier fans have shown time and again that they can bring the noise for Cignetti, and last year’s national championship run was proof of just how big this fan base can be.

Now that Big Ten play is here, it would be pretty shocking if those same fans didn’t show up ready to cheer from the opening kickoff all the way to the final whistle.