The 2023 Hoosiers let up 17+ points in 11 of 12 games. The 2024 Hoosiers have let up 17+ in three games. The 2023 Hoosiers were 3-9. The 2024 Hoosiers are 11-1 in the College Football Playoff.
They brought in 10 new starters and a complete overhaul of the coaching staff. Clearly, the right moves were made.
“I wanted to be downhill aggressive, slipping blocks, getting vertical playing in their own backyard,” defensive coordinator Bryant Haines said this week in advance of Indiana’s CFP matchup with No. 7-seeded Notre Dame on Friday night. “I don't know where the phrase came from, I don't know where it originated, but just philosophically, that's who [Haines and IU head coach Curt Cignetti] both are. That's who we are from a personality standpoint. We want to attack.”
Attacking is what the defense has done. They’re getting to the quarterback and turning the ball over more than almost anybody in the country.
“I like to dictate the terms of where the quarterback is going to go,” Haines said on Monday. “I can call jet and I can come and use a lineman and they just rush and they just run up the field and they're hitting swims and they're falling down.”
Haines even explained why the defense is called the way it is.
“Because the quarterback can choose where he wants to go,” Haines said. “...I don't want that, I want to tell him where he wants to go… Whatever the situation, the game-plan is, I can use stunts to dictate the terms of the quarterback instead of vice versa.”
Statistically speaking
Indiana’s pressure has generated counting stats inside the top 25, but forcing fumbles aren’t their strongest aspect.
The name Indiana can be spotted amongst the top 25 in a plethora of defensive counting stats, which is something the unit hasn’t done since 2020.
Except this season has produced much better results: the fifth-best turnover margin in the country (+15), the ninth-best passing defense nationally (174 yds/g) and the 11th best allowed passer rating in the country (111).
This is the best the Indiana defense has been in years by miles, even with the 2020 squad making some noise.
Their most impressive aspect is their ability to stop the run. It’s the best in the country.
They allow 71 yards a game, 13 yards fewer than second-best in the country.
There will always be multiple Indiana hats around a ball carrier if they’re being taken down. That’s the most obvious thing that happens when the Indiana defense is on the field.
But the schematics of Indiana’s defense confuse the opposing players trying to get by them.
“I'm a big fan of angles. I want to create angles and picks and rolls, like I said, good way of getting home and freeing guys up,” Haines said on Monday.
Haines usually sends out four down lineman, two linebackers and five defensive backs who all look to get downhill in the run game.
The Hoosiers’ defensive linemen stunt on a regular basis. A few of them will crash one way, creating a gap, when the leftover lineman who didn’t crash comes to fill that hole.
It’s like the defense’s version of a pulling guard.
“It's fun,” Indiana defensive lineman Mikail Kamara said. “But it's go out there and wreak havoc and make plays, right. You have a one-on-one, every single time, just go in. Simple.”
Then the linebackers are able to play off of them. Jailin Walker or Aiden Fisher will be on a delayed blitz to crash the offensive party.
It’s common for Walker to get through on a delayed blitz. He’ll usually take down whoever has the ball on the offense if they’re still in the backfield.
National appreciation
This Indiana defense has garnered national attention in multiple ways. Fisher was given first team All-American honors, sophomore corner D-Angelo Ponds was a second teamer, and Kamara was voted onto the third team.
Haines is a finalist for The Broyles Award, which is the award for the best assistant coach in the country, and the winner will be announced in February of 2025.
Friday’s game against Notre Dame kicks off at 8 p.m. EST and will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN, the IU Sports Radio Network, Sirius XM Channel 84 and WIUX Sports.
