IU’s Defense Has Season-High 5 Takeaways in Win Over Nebraska

Written By: Ben Gillard (@benjgillard)

Today was homecoming in Bloomington, and the Indiana defense certainly put on a show for the alums who made the trip down for the Hoosiers 56-7 rout of Nebraska. The IU defense was swallowing up Cornhuskers faster than Indiana native Joey Chestnut could swallow cheeseburgers at halftime. The Hoosiers “attack the ball” mentality certainly paid off this afternoon as they came away with a season-high five turnovers. 

The first of these turnovers came at the hands, or rather helmet, of linebacker Jailin Walker. As Nebraska was driving midway through the first quarter, Walker stopped Cornhuskers’ running back Dante Dowdell in his tracks on a 3rd and 1. This brought up a key 4th and 1 on the Indiana 12 yard line. Just 12 yards out from paydirt and looking to suck the life out of a sold-out Memorial Stadium, Dowdell again ran straight at the heart of the IU defense. Again, Walker met Dowdell right at line, only this time he was able to get his helmet on the ball, forcing a fumble. After the game, Walker said, “It was a counter to the other side of the field, and I just got my helmet on the ball. You know, Coach Haines teaches us great tackling form in practice, so we just show it off on Saturdays.”

While this was critical play, it was Indiana’s next turnover that Coach Cignetti thought was the play of the game. In the third quarter, Nebraska again drove the length of the field, and again the IU defense was able to come up with a red zone takeaway. This time, it was DB Shawn Ashbury II who picked off Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola and nearly returned it for a touchdown. As Coach Cignetti said, “The Shawn Ashbury play was probably the biggest play of the game. There were a lot of big plays, but that was a real momentum stealer.” Fellow DB D’Angelo Ponds echoed this, saying, “It was a big momentum shifter; they were driving and they were in the red zone; it was a clutch pick. It definitely shifted momentum for us.” 

However, if you were to ask Ashbury, he isn’t concerned with making the play of the game; he’s worried about doing his job and is upset that he wasn’t able to complete the pick-six. When asked about the play after the game, Ashbury said, “Yeah [I thought I was gone]. I didn’t even see where he came from; I guess he caught my leg. But honestly, I’m just trying to go out there and do my job.”

The Hoosiers tallied another interception on the very next drive as DB Jamier Johnson picked off Dylan Raiola on 3rd and 4. This was followed up by a pair of turnovers in the fourth quarter, a strip sack by Mikail Kamara, and an interception by Rolijah Hardy.

The Hoosiers ended the day with five total turnovers, three interceptions, and two fumble recoveries, snapping a two game streak without a takeaway. The interceptions were especially impressive considering Raiola had been known for taking care of the football, throwing only three interceptions through six games. The Hoosiers matched that total in just one half. With a defense playing at this level, don’t count the Hoosiers out in any game they play this season.