'Fourth Quarter Warriors' Capture Crucial Takeaways in Indiana Season Opener

Indiana's season-opening win will be remembered by Connor Bazelak’s game-winning two-minute drill, but the Hoosiers wouldn’t have been in position to win the game without three second-half takeaways by the Indiana defense.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – On the practice fields outside Memorial Stadium during fall camp, it became common to hear Tom Allen shout certain words or phrases from his megaphone.

“We have to physically and violently take the ball away,” was one of them.

When referring to this game-changing play, Allen almost always chooses to use the word takeaway – not turnover – to transmit a specific mentality and instinct into his defense. He doesn’t want them to wait for the offense to hand the ball over. He wants the Hoosiers to take it. The three pillars of a Tom Allen-coached defense are takeaways, tackling and effort. He uses that phrase weekly, if not daily, too.

Whether a multitude or injuries or a change in scheme was the central cause, Indiana lost that identity in 2021. Going from 17 interceptions in eight games 2020 to five interceptions in 12 games in 2021, Indiana’s massive drop in takeaways came with an equally-drastic fall in overall record – 6-2 to 2-10.

That’s why Allen was so fixated on this message in fall camp. It’s also part of the reason he chose to take over defensive play-calling duties for the first time since the 2018 season. And if Friday night’s season-opening win over Illinois was any indication, the message was well-received.

Indiana trailed by one point late in the third quarter when the Illini broke into the red zone, threatening to extend their lead. Illinois quarterback Tommy DeVito swung the ball out to Chase Brown in the flat, but Indiana defensive back Noah Pierre hammered Brown to the turf before he could secure the ball. It was ruled a backwards pass, and instinctively, Pierre snatched the loose ball. It was Indiana’s second takeaway of the game, following a forced fumble by Lance Bryant, which was recovered by Cam Jones in the first quarter.

Indiana Hoosiers defensive back Noah Pierre (21) picks up the fumble by Illinois Fighting Illini running back Chase Brown (2) in the second half at Memorial Stadium / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

But still, Allen knew Indiana needed more.

“Guys, to win this game, we've got to get three [takeaways],” Allen told his defense.

After losing 14 yards on a sack on the first play of the fourth quarter, Indiana was forced to punt. Clinging to a one-point lead, DeVito and the Illini drove down the field, all the way to the Indiana two-yard line. Brown was nearing 200 yards on the night, looking for a touchdown that would put the game in serious jeopardy for the Hoosiers.

DeVito handed the ball to Brown up the middle on third down, but linebacker Cam Jones and safety Josh Sanguinetti burst through the line to stuff the run. Illinois stuck with its best player, Brown, again on fourth down, but JH Tevis found a gap in the line and Aaron Casey darted off the edge to stonewall Brown on fourth down. With Allen back to calling defensive plays, Casey said he thinks Indiana’s defense is playing with more confidence this season.

“When they had to put their heels in the dirt and get a stop, they did,” Indiana defensive coordinator Chad Wilt said. “I think we all know [the goal-line stand] was a big factor in the outcome of that game.”

Indiana's Aaron Casey (44) celebrates his backfield tackle of Illinois' Chase Brown (2) during the Indiana versus Illinois football game at Memorial Stadium on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022 :: Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

But Indiana had to punt again just three plays later, giving Illinois yet another chance to seal the game with a touchdown. As the Illini crossed the 50-yard line and approached field-goal range, DeVito looked for his trusty wide receiver Isaiah Williams inside the 10-yard line. But his throw sailed over Williams’ head, and Sanguinetti dove to intercept the pass.

Indiana secured its third takeaway, the one Allen said the Hoosiers needed to win the game.

"We talk a lot about being fourth quarter warriors and being our best at the end," Wilt said. "And those guys found a way to be their best at the end."

Indiana Hoosiers defensive back Josh Sanguinetti (19) celebrates his interception of the ball in the second half against the Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

But as Indiana quarterback Connor Bazelak hit wide receiver Cam Camper for a 10-yard gain, Camper lost the ball as he was brought to the ground. Camper’s 156 yards set an Indiana record for most receiving yards in a debut, but his fumble kept the game up for grabs.

Illinois took over near midfield, and the Indiana defense did just enough to get a third-down stop and force Illinois to kick a 48-yard field goal. With just over two minutes to play, the Illini clung to a four-point lead, and Camper had to shake off the mistake.

"Just the next play mindset, the ‘so what?’ mindset," Camper said. "You have to move on, there is nothing you can do about it."

Bazelak maintained trust in Camper, as well as wide receiver D.J. Matthews, connecting on 7-of-10 passes for 70 yards to his go-to playmakers on the final drive. Shaun Shivers plowed forward for a touchdown to give Indiana a 23-20 lead with 23 seconds remaining.

And just for good measure, the Indiana defense added a sack by Beau Robbins and a fumble recovery by Jaylin Williams to stop any Illini plans of forcing overtime. The season-opening win will be remembered by  Bazelak’s game-winning two-minute drill, but the Hoosiers wouldn’t have been in position to win the game without three second-half takeaways by the Indiana defense that returned to its ball-hawking ways.

“Overall it was, I would say, a good start to getting us back to where I know we need to be, defensively,” Allen said. “Because if you play great defense, you create takeaways, you give yourself a chance every week."

Indiana head coach Tom Allen celebrates with his team and the fans after the Indiana versus Illinois football game at Memorial Stadium on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. Indiana won the game 23-20 :: © Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

Allen knows it wasn’t a perfect performance from Indiana in Week 1, but he also knows how much momentum a season-opening win can carry. And moving forward, a major area of focus this week, defensively, is tackling.

Indiana 23 missed tackles against Illinois on Friday, and Allen said part of this is due to Chase Brown and Isaiah Williams being very talented players. It’s also a product of what typically happens during the first game of any season.

“I don't know if I've ever had a game one where you say, 'Man, we had awesome tackling in game one,” Allen said. “I just think it's hard to do that.”

Due to all of the injuries Indiana experienced in 2021, Allen was careful how Indiana practiced this offseason, which meant less live tackling. He admitted after the Illinois game that he was concerned about playing 80 to 90 snaps of live tackle because they hadn’t done that leading up to the season.

“We were trying to keep our guys healthy,” Allen said. “We went live for sure and we did tackle, but we were just trying to find ways to do that both in the spring and in the fall. We tackled less live than I've ever in the history of my coaching career during fall camp and spring football.”

Allen said Indiana will not do more live tackling in practice this week, but there will be additional drills to address these issues. The first team defense will not tackle the first team offense, but Allen said Indiana may tackle its scout team running backs.

“We take the film and simulate whatever happened in the game that we didn't like the response, the result, and we recreate it in practice,” Allen said. “So a lot of leg drive drills. We call it ‘Drive for Five’ with our tackling technique and the way we do different things. So we're going to do more drills for that and just different things for wrapping up.”

Related stories on Indiana football: 

• HOOSIER ROUNDTABLE PODCAST: During the first episode of the ''Hoosier Roundtable'' podcast on HoosiersNow.com, we sat down and talked at length with Indiana linebacker Cam Jones and tight end AJ Barner to break down the Hoosiers' 23-20 win over Illinois. Here's the entire 33-minute podcast. CLICK HERE
• MEET THE IDAHO VANDALS: Following a 23-20 win over Illinois in the season opener, the Indiana football team will host the Idaho Vandals at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. It's time to meet the Vandals. CLICK HERE
• RUN GAME STRUGGLES IN SEASON OPENER: Indiana knew going into the game that Illinois was committed to stop the run, and that showed with 26 carries for 32 yards. But in the final moments, Indiana got the push it desperately needed to win the game. CLICK HERE