Credit the Indiana Defense for Another Win

Indiana’s defense made plays when it needed to. Image: Sarah Miller Hoosier Huddle

Written By Nathan Comp

Today Indiana escaped Piscataway with what was, if possible, a deflating 24-17 Big Ten road victory. After building a 24-7 halftime lead, Indiana relied on its defense to preserve the lead in the second half and ultimately escape with a win.

The defense was able to win this game primarily because of the play of their front seven. Indiana finished the game having only allowed the Scarlet Knights 98 yards rushing on 23 carries. The pressure from Indiana’s front seven also kept freshman quarterback Artur Sitkowski uncomfortable throughout the day, who finished with just 154 yards passing and completed barely over 50% of his passes.

Freshman cornerback Jamar Johnson made the most out of both A’Shon Riggins’ absence from the game and the front seven’s pressure by securing his first career interception and the defense’s sole takeaway of the game. This was telling of Rutgers’ offensive performance throughout this season; in a drive in which Sitkowski looked arguably the most in-control of his young collegiate career, the end result was still a turnover. Coach Allen later awarded Johnson with the game ball.

The Indiana defense also found a boost from the return of husky Marcelino Ball. After being ejected from the Michigan State game due to a targeting call, Ball was forced to sit out for the first half of this game. Coach Allen knew he would be able to make an impact as soon as he returned. “He was a caged tiger. He’s like ‘Coach, I got to stay in the locker room?’ I told him sorry, that’s the rule. So he’s pacing and pacing. We had to assign somebody to him to make sure he didn’t sneak out,” said Allen. Once Ball was able to return, he immediately made an impact with a tackle for loss and a pass breakup in his first series back on the field. “I was excited to have him back out there. He’s a great person to have on the sideline with you,” said linebacker Raekwon Jones.

Despite earning the credit for the victory, the defense still left room for improvement. After winning the toss, Indiana again chose to trust their defense and defer to the second half. However, the defense continued its opening drive struggles by allowing Rutgers to drive the field and score a touchdown after a 3rd down roughing the passer penalty extended the drive.

An uninspiring second half which lacked energy and an apparent desire to put Rutgers away added to the list of things to improve going forward.

“I’m not satisfied with how the game ended. I addressed the team in the locker room after the game and I told them ‘I’m happy we won, but we all feel like we left something out there.’ And that’s how you should feel. We should play to a higher standard,” Raekwon Jones explained after the game. “I didn’t want anyone to feel complacent or content with that win. We can be happy but at the same time know that we made mistakes and we need to come bac and really emphasize finishing and working hard.”

Finishing and maintaining energy throughout the whole game will be of key importance going forward, as two of the next three games will come against ranked opponents and the elite of the Big Ten East.

“We know what kind of team we’re trying to be. This stuff can’t happen if we want to get where we want to be.”