Stephen Daley and Kellan Wyatt Bolster Indiana’s Defensive Front to a Dominant Road Victory

Indiana’s defense posted its fourth scoreless first half, shutting down a Rutgers offense that had scored 35 points against USC just two weeks ago. The Indiana defensive line led the first-half effort.

Rutgers first three drives of the game all ended in punts; the last two ended up being three-and-outs. Then Rutgers went for it on fourth down in both their next two drives. Indiana’s defense shut these conversions down and forced turnovers. Then Rutgers would punt again, and then on their final drive, Stephen Daley would get a sack, which would eventually result in Rutgers letting the clock run out.

Stephen Daley and Kellan Wyatt have not only had to fight back from injury, but also have had to fight the legal battle to get to this game. Daley and Wyatt, now eligible to play, made the most of every opportunity on that field.

The NCAA’s new five-in-five rule has allowed players like Daley and Wyatt to play, but only after an extensive list of court rulings. It isn’t easy to battle the courts while also battling on the field, but Daley had an excellent performance today. It feels like the Daley and Wyatt combination will finally take off now that the court rulings have been seemingly finalized for the season.

“I mean, right now the injunction is good for the season,” Daley said. “So focus on that and kind of let the legal stuff just settle it way home”.

Daley can finally just focus on football now that these legal issues have gone away. Indiana’s star defensive lineman did just that, as he has two sacks in this game against Rutgers. He had three total tackles. The Indiana defensive front as a whole had four sacks and eight tackles for a loss. Tobi Osunsanmi also had another great game, as he had one sack and two tackles for loss, alongside seven total tackles.

Kellan Wyatt’s contribution was more rotational than Daley’s, but he still snagged a tackle on the way. As a whole, the Indiana defense had a stellar day, with an amazing first half. The 15 points Rutgers could conjure were garbage-time points, as the game was already over.

“I thought we had an outstanding defensive effort,” Curt Cignetti said. “Two for 14 (on third downs). There’s going to be plays that weren’t so great. Coaches will critique, but I thought it was a good team win”.

Cignetti definitely was more pleased after this game than he was after the Northwestern game, but he knows that there is still room for more defensive improvement. Daley and Wyatt being able to be more comfortable in their eligibility status will only help the Hoosiers’ defense moving forward. Both players were such key contributors to IU’s success last year, until both received their respective season-ending injuries.

Now they are both healthy and showing why they came back to play another year at Indiana. This defensive line was the unit that seemed like Indiana’s strongest on paper heading into the year. The versatility of the group is so unique, and the depth is vast.

“They’re very versatile,” Daley said. “We’re every day we’re kind of learning and practicing every single spot in the D-line. So we can throw any group out there that we want. You know, especially based on game plan, whether teams really spread, we can get a whole bunch of speed guys, or they’re really downhill run, get a lot of bigger guys in there”.

The versatility of this IU defensive front will continue to be a strength for Indiana in the upcoming games. Daley and Wyatt will continue to improve as they become more comfortable with their bodies and their eligibility status. Indiana’s defensive line will get a chance to flex its strength next week, on the road once again, as they face Nebraska at noon on Saturday, October 10.