Indiana Defense Needs a Balanced Attack to Stop Big Plays

Image: Indiana University Athletics

Written by Matt Smith

Indiana’s defense struggled again against Rutgers on Saturday, giving up over 200 yards on the ground. Indiana’s defense has normally been the strong point for the Hoosiers, but for the past couple of weeks they have struggled.

Defensive coordinator Charlton Warren attributed these struggles to the many injuries on the defensive side of the ball. On Saturday, the Hoosiers were playing without Cam Jones who is a big part of the rush defense.

Warren also took some of the blame with his schemes as well.

“At the end of the day I have to find ways to put whoever is on the field to make sure a team doesn’t just run the ball, run the ball,” Warren.

With Jones out, different players had to step up the try and stop the Rutgers’ rushing attack.

“Every guy that is on that field, they’re giving effort and they’re trying to do the best job they can,” Warren said. “You see at times we play very consistent football, and then you see times where something happens and you give up the big play.”

Warren said that there needs to be a balance with his playing calling in order to continue to force three and outs and not allow the big play.

The Hoosiers also had a lot of missed tackles on Saturday, this was because they tried to tackle with their shoulders. Shoulder tackles are easy to break when it is against a division one athlete. So the Hoosiers will focus on fundamentals this week in order to fix that.

Warren mentioned early in his press conference that the defensive lineman are playing a lot of snaps throughout the game. This has put into question the lack of depth on the line.

“I don’t think it's about guys stepping up, I think when guys get their opportunity, they are going in and playing their butts off, they are going in and working really hard,” Warren said. “When games come down to the wire, you’re going to play your starters, but we do have to start building depth.” 

As far as Minnesota, they have one of the best rushing attacks in the Big Ten. This is due to their big offensive line, which is also one of the biggest in the Big Ten. 

So, with the Hoosiers’ defense struggling on against the run, it will be a big challenge for the Hoosiers to bounce back and finish the season strong.