My Two Cents: Difference for Hoosiers? Finally Being Able to Win Battles Up Front

For decades, Indiana used to get pushed around in the trenches by the big boys in the Big Ten. That trend is changing as the Hoosiers turn themselves into a contender.

Tom Brew | Nov 4, 2020

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana has been so bad at football for so long that this resurgence over the past year and change has been refreshing. Indiana has won 10 of its past 15 games and is ranked No. 13 in the country, something that hasn't been done since 1987.

They have beaten then-No. 8 Penn State in the season opener, which was massive, especially considering that Indiana had been just 1-22 all-time against the Nittany Lions. And last week's win at Rutgers pushed the Hoosiers to 2-0. Say what you want that it's Rutgers, but any Big Ten road win — with fans or without — is still a big deal.

And now comes Michigan, and team that's owned Indiana even more than Penn State has. Indiana has lost 24 games in a row to the Wolverines, not winning since 1987. The excitement level for this game is off the charts, one of the biggest games for the Indiana program in a long time.

Can this losing streak be erased as well?

Sure it can. What we've learned about this Indiana team is they are physically capable of fighting it out in the trenches with anyone. They proved that against Penn State, and are confident they can do the same this weekend against Michigan.

"As a group we felt like we needed to elevate our focus this year, and emphasize our physicality,'' Indiana sophomore defensive tackle Sio Nofoagatoto'a said. "We feel like we've showed glimpses of what we can do when we are playing as a defensive line and a defense, but we have a lot to work on. It is going to be a fun year for our defense.

"Against Penn State, we were able to come up with more wins physically and come up with the dub. At this point, we can go toe-to-toe with anybody.''

There were many times through the years when Indiana tried to compete in Big Ten games while giving up 30, 40 50 pounds a man across the defensive front. That's not the case anymore. Indiana's defensive line has become stout, and it starts in the middle with Nofoagatoto'a and Demarcus Elliott at the nose. It expands outward, and has allowed defensive coordinator Kane Wommack to dial up a variety of looks.

It's what Sio came to Indiana for, to play in big games — and win big games.

"I think the confidence in our team has grown,'' Nofoagatoto'a said . I can attest for every player that has been recruited under Coach Allen that he sat in our homes and said that we would go out and do these things like we did (against Penn State).

"Over time the coaches stressed that during these times when it comes to the game, it is not going to matter what we went through or how many days we sat out because of COVID-19. We are expected to go out there, make plays, and come out with the win. We are just grateful to have come out and get wins.''

So far in two games, Indiana's defensive line has been winning more battles than they've lost up front. Jerome Johnson, James Head Jr., and Michael Ziemba have all played well, too. As a group, they've been creating turnovers, three in each game. A couple of those interceptions have come thanks the Hoosiers getting a good push up front. Elliott and Nofoagatoto'a have both tipped passes.

Demarcus Elliott has been a big disruptor on the defensive line for Indiana. (USA TODAY Sports)

Nofoagatoto'a is 6-foot-4 and 315 pounds, and the Samoan sophomore who playing his high school football in Clearwater, Fla., has been sensational. Elliott, too. The 6-foot-3, 311-pound junior college transfer has helped Indiana hold down the middle.

"Demarcus and I have a great relationship,'' he said. "We came in at the same time, and we had a big hole at the nose guard position for the defense and we knew we couldn't do it individually. Just being able to attack and knowing when he's having a great game,I can give him rest, and he can add on to what I'm doing when I'm having a great game.

'I don't think there's any team as deep at nose guard as us because we can definitely both start, and with the rotation, it's just great for our defense.''

Winning battles in the trenches starts with winning the day – every day — in the weight room, too. That's what's been happening during Tom Allen's four years at Indiana. The effort has been put in, first under David Ballou and now under strength coach Aaron Wellman. Want to fight? Indiana will fight.

There's been real challenges in 2020 with the COVID-19 and the endless starts and stops to the football season, going all the way back to the spring. When the players were sent home after school closed, finding a way to stay in shape became a challenge.

Elliott was back home in Kansas, and he was running hills and bailing hay. Nofoagtoto'a went back to Clearwater, and worked out with fellow IU teammate D.K. Bonhomme. The pair played together at Clearwater Academy International.

"D.K. and I were in Florida. We went to high school in Florida, so it is like a second home for us whenever we need,'' Nofoagatoto'a said. "We were doing push-ups and sit-ups. We were able to find a field where we could do some field workouts.

"Coach Wellman and the staff did a good job of sending body-weight workouts that we could do, so that was great. It gave us the opportunity to realize how lucky we are to have everything that we have. The facilities, the coaches and the gear, it's great.''

Teammates were always pushing each other all summer long. A simple tag from someone met dropping for 20 or 30 pushups. That would happen all day long.

“It was actually a fun time, because we were doing a team challenge. So randomly, if someone tagged you on Instagram, it was 30 pushups,” Nofoagatoto’a said. “Throughout the day, I had, like, 20 guys tag me. At that time, it was like 200, 300 pushups a day, on top of what we did for the workouts.”

That's all paid off in victories so far, with the goal of ending that long losing streak against Michigan this weekend.

Sio was caught on video during the Penn State celebration that "this was not an upset.'' And even though Michigan is a field-goal favorite this weekend, if Indiana wins, he won't consider that an upset, either, and he's loving every minute of it.

Everyone is. The wins are nice, and the celebrations are even nicer. All that hard work is paying off

'I grew up in locker rooms like that my whole life. I have seen some somber locker rooms, but have been around a lot of great ones and exciting ones,'' Allen said. "There is just a feeling when a group of men are committed to something, work so hard for something and get one moment to be rewarded for all that work and effort, it makes that really special.

" It is euphoric, in a way, to me and as I get older, as I have done this more and more, a celebrated locker room is truly a sacred thing. It is important we do it and we do it well. I thought we did it well Saturday (against Penn State). It's a chance to celebrate, it's a chance to reward each other, reward ourselves and have a chance to just really hug each other around the neck and say 'job well done.' That was a special thing to be able to do.''

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