Indiana shut out the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers with a 38-0 victory, featuring a dominant second half. The Indiana defense gets its second consecutive shutout, led by a dominant defensive front seven.
The first drive of the game set the defensive tone as linebacker Rolijah Hardy picked up two TFLs against the run. Hardy wasn’t the only one who set the tone, as Tobi Osunsanmi got two quarterback pressures, a sack, and a forced fumble all in the first drive. He was Western Kentucky quarterback Brock Glenn’s worst nightmare.
That drive was the tone-setter, but the real reason that a shutout was pitched was the defense on fourth downs. WKU was 0-for-3 on fourth down, including a stop on fourth-and-inches. The Western QB sneak wasn’t able to gain any yardage, as the Hoosiers’ big men made a huge stand.
Western Kentucky also had a fourth-and-goal at the two, but Indiana was able to fluster Glenn into making a prayer of a pass, which Jamari Sharpe ultimately broke up. IU came up clutch in these fourth-down situations.
These situations have been a point of emphasis for the Hoosiers this season.
“We talk about that week in, week out. Third down, fourth down, we wanna get off the field, and that’s what we did today,” Hardy said.
Indiana struggled in this game, especially in the first half. With less than two minutes remaining in the half, IU was only up 7-0. WKU had the ball, and Glenn threw an interception to linebacker Isaiah Jones. Jones returned the ball to the two-yard line, and then Indiana’s offense was able to punch in a touchdown. It was the turning point of the game.
Glenn made the error because he was on the run. The play design was a rollout to avoid pressure coming off the edge from Indiana. While there wasn’t a defender in Glenn’s face, the pressure that IU had put on him all game caused the play call, which led to the intercepted pass.
Jones was the man in the right spot for the interception, but it was an entire defensive effort to make that play.
Indiana’s defense didn’t play a perfect game, but they pitched a shutout and survived. They also notably did this without the presence of Stephen Daley or Kellan Wyatt. It is wildly impressive that the defensive front is the highlight of the game, while two key contributors to that unit are on the sideline.
The tackling was a problem with the team in the North Texas game, but it was a strength in this one. Specifically, Indiana’s outside tackling. This was led by Hardy, who had nine total tackles in this game.
Indiana wrapped up its non-conference slate, moving to 3-0 on the year. They had their second straight shutout win and will play against Northwestern, Friday at 8:00 p.m. under the lights at Memorial Stadium.