Savage Steps Up in Spot Start, Helps Power Indiana Defense

As Indiana and Minnesota players warmed up on the field, fans filed into Memorial Stadium, music blared and the anticipation that had been building in Bloomington since early in the morning neared a crescendo, one of Indiana’s star players felt an unpleasant sensation in his back.

“That was like a shock,” IU coach Curt Cignetti said of Rolijah Hardy during his postgame press conference. “Something popped in his back in pregame. They (trainers) tried to take care of him, but it didn’t work. That was like a 20-minute-before-kickoff adjustment we had to make.”

The adjustment that Cignetti talked about was not a small one. IU had to find a way to fill the gap left by an All-American and one of the best defensive players in the country. The Hoosiers needed to find a way to remain a dominant defense without an ever-present force in their lineup. Rolijah Hardy played more than 92% of defensive snaps this season coming into the game against Minnesota (according to HuddleIQ) but the Hoosiers would now be without him.

Indiana turned to a player who has seen his playing time increase in recent weeks as he continued to make plays and have a positive impact. On Saturday, Jacob Savage was handed his first career start and did not disappoint. The freshman from Union, Kentucky, made the tackle on the very first play from scrimmage and was a consistent force all evening. He ended the game with four tackles including a tackle for loss, as well as a pass break up and a quarterback hurry. Despite missing Hardy, IU’s defense remained one of the best units in the country.

“We have good players over there, we really do,” Cignetti said about IU’s defense. “Our front’s really good, that’s where it starts. You think back in the day, all the great Super Bowl teams were great up front on defense. We’re really good up front on defense.

“Coach Haines does a good job. Our linebackers are good and our DBs. They’re definitely the strength of the team. There’s no doubt about that. I can’t say enough great things about them.”

In a game that was nearly defined by IU’s offensive struggles and special teams ineptitude, the Hoosiers’ defense gave them a chance. The Golden Gophers totaled only ten first downs and had only 215 yards of offense with an average of just 3.6 yards per play. It was a total effort from the defense and plays were made by nearly everyone that got snaps. Jeff Utzinger had a huge sack on third and goal, Byron Baldwin forced the fumble that setup IU’s first touchdown, Preston Zachman led the team in tackles, Tobi Osunsanmi finished the game with the sack on fourth and goal in overtime and the aforementioned Jacob Savage partnered with Isaiah Jones at linebacker in relief of Hardy.

The Indiana offense will spend the next two weeks trying to figure things out for the stretch run but the Hoosiers know they have a defense they can lean on and gives them a chance in most any contest.