Matchup To Watch: Indiana’s Defense vs. Missed Tackles

The defending champion Indiana Hoosiers will look to continue their title defense this Saturday against the Howard Bison. In a ‘Battle of the Bison’ matchup, the Hoosiers are 55-point favorites and are given a 99% chance to win by various analytics sites.

Howard have talent on their roster, but I won’t sugarcoat things or give you a ‘matchup to watch’ between one of Howard’s units vs. one of Indiana’s units. Indiana should win this game with ease, and it would be one of the biggest upsets in recent memory (maybe of all time?) if they were to lose. As such, this week’s matchup to watch is Indiana vs. Indiana. Specifically, Indiana’s defense vs. missed tackles.

Last week against North Texas, Indiana missed 14 total tackles. We’ve analyzed reasons why – the scorching temperature, the massive time of possession differences due to Indiana’s uber efficient offense keeping the defense on the field, and key injuries taking place in-game on the defense.

These are extremely valid excuses, and Head Coach Curt Cignetti referenced it as well. In a recent presser, he shared, “Defense had a hard time getting off the field. And the opponent had the ball 37 minutes, a combination of some critical missed assignments, poor tackling. So gotta get better there.”

Cignetti acknowledged the hardships that the North Texas game brought, but he also was quite blunt – notice the, “…poor tackling. So gotta get better there” at the end of his quote. Despite the hardships, Indiana needed to be better. This likely came as a shock to Cignetti and his staff, as last year Indiana never missed tackles at the rate they did this past Saturday.

Last year, Indiana was a textbook performer when it came to tackling. They averaged 6 missed tackles per game and peaked at 13 missed tackles during their 56-6 matchup against UCLA (both stats per Pro Football Focus). So, in just one game, the Hoosiers already eclipsed last year’s peak missed tackle total by one, totaling the aforementioned 14 missed tackles against North Texas.

The missed tackles against North Texas were not attributed to backups either – they were largely by clear Indiana starters. I don’t expect this to be an issue moving forward, to be clear. Head Coach Curt Cignetti, Defensive Coordinator Bryant Haines, and their staff have established a standard in the locker room where missed tackle totals like these are unacceptable. I fully anticipate this being rectified this week in practice and being on full display against Howard this Saturday. Nonetheless, it is something for Hoosier fans to monitor. If this lingers into Big Ten play, Indiana will have issues. But, as I mentioned, I do not expect this to continue.

As always, thanks for reading! Stay locked in with Hoosier Huddle for all things Indiana football – and Indiana sports in general – all season long. Go Hoosiers!