Indiana Defense Creates Havoc in Season Opener

Defensive coordinator Bryant Haines’ unit finished a Week 1 win over Florida International with eight tackles for loss and four sacks.

Indiana linebacker Aiden Fisher (4) and defensive end Lanell Carr Jr. (41) celebrate after a play against the Florida International Panthers at Memorial Stadium. / Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – It didn’t take long for Indiana’s defense to model what its new coaching staff has done in the past, and what they want to accomplish at their new school.

Their catch phrase is fast, physical and relentless, seen through a 2023 James Madison defense that led the FBS in run defense and tackles for loss. Coach Curt Cignetti brought 13 transfers with him from Harrisonburg, Va., to Bloomington, and six of them played significant snaps on Saturday in the 4-2-5 scheme under defensive coordinator Bryant Haines.

On their second play, several of those former Dukes picked up where they left off. Defensive linemen James Carpenter and Mikail Kamara won their battles up front, immediately pushing the Florida International offensive line back and leaving running back Lexington Joseph nowhere to go. Linebacker Aiden Fisher burst through the gap to finish off the play with a tackle for loss of four yards.

On the next play, Kamara and Fisher pressured FIU quarterback Keyone Jenkins’ blind side. Jenkins tried to scramble away, but Carpenter and defensive end Lanell Carr Jr. ensured there were no open lanes. 

Again, it was Fisher cleaning it up, this time with a sack to force a three-and-out on the defense’s first possession. Just how they drew it up.

“We’ve been a very explosive defense,” Fisher said. “We play vertical. We play fast, and physical is the last part of that defense. Being able to allow our d-line to play free, play vertical, allows the linebackers to kind of clean up what’s been happening in front of them, and that’s how we make a lot of our plays.”

Indiana defensive lineman Marcus Burris Jr. (92) celebrates after a sack against the Florida International Panthers at Memorial Stadium. / Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports

“It makes my job pretty easy. You got four guys that go out there and dominate every play and I’m just playing behind them, just making plays off of what they do and allowing them to play fast is our biggest thing. That allows me to play fast and make those explosive plays.”

The strong defensive start was a sign of things to come in a near-complete performance by the Indiana defense in a 31-7 season-opening win over FIU. The Panthers gained 10 or more yards on just six plays and finished with 182 total yards. Last season, Indiana’s defense allowed fewer yards than that only once.

Indiana finished with eight tackles for loss and four sacks, led by Fisher with two tackles for loss and one sack. It was a clean effort, too, with the one defensive penalty being an iffy roughing the passer call on Fisher.

“We've always been high in TFLs and sacks, and we have guys that have the ability to do that, too,” Cignetti said. “So I think it's something to build on.”

The one blemish on the defense’s resume came just before halftime. The drive began with the Panthers chipping away with six gains between three and eight yards, then an 11-yard completion, its first gain of 10-plus yards to that point. 

On 3rd and 5 with 58 seconds remaining, running back Kejon Owens gave FIU its largest gain of the day, a 23-yard rush up the middle. Fisher blitzed up the middle and fellow linebacker Jailin Walker defended the far-side tight end, leaving the middle of the field open. 

Defensive end Venson Sneed had a chance to tackle Owens near the line of scrimmage, but the running back was just out of his reach. FIU got on the board the very next play with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Jenkins to Rocky Beers.

Indiana bounced back from that drive with a second-half shutout, which included a deflection from James Madison transfer cornerback D’Angelo Ponds that led to Amare Ferrell’s interception. And overall, Cignetti liked what he saw on that side of the ball.

“End of the second quarter, it didn’t go the way we were expecting. We did a lot of sloppy things, messy things, missing tackles, bad angles, just really not what our defense is about. I mean, first game, you gotta assess those things. But coming out in the second half, being able to shut them out, I think we played solid. Just a lot of things to grow off of and learn from.”

Indiana’s defense was especially dominant in the run game. FIU ran the ball 30 times but mustered just 1.8 yards per carry and 53 total yards, 23 of which came on Owens’ carry late in the first half. Fisher, Burris, Carr and Andrew Turvy accounted for Indiana’s four sacks and helped the group hold FIU to 4-for-13 on third down.

Fisher led the team with 12 tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack. Alongside him, Walker was next with eight tackles. Those two are used to playing together at James Madison, and Fisher thought that familiary helped in their first game with many new teammates. 

“I’ve been able to kind of rely on [Walker] for a lot of the same checks and different things that we did at James Madison and bring it here,” Fisher said. 

Cignetti mentioned several times in the lead-up to the game that Indiana would need to contain Jenkins, who looks to pass first but is dangerous with his legs. His longest rush of the game was just four yards, and he finished with negative 11 rushing yards on 10 attempts, due to Indiana’s four sacks.

“Our biggest thing was containing him, knocking him off his rhythm,” Fisher said. “Getting that sack and many others that we had during this game were a key to keeping him contained and allowing us to thrive on defense.”

Indiana defensive linemen Mikail Kamara (6) and Lanell Carr Jr. (41) celebrate after a defensive play against the Florida International Panthers at Memorial Stadium. / Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports

From a national perspective, Indiana’s run defense was the strongest part of its Week 1 performance. Pro Football Focus (PFF) gave Indiana an 85.3 run defense grade, which tied for 22nd nationally after Saturday’s games. The overall defense grade of 82.3 tied for 27th, and its 79.6 tackling grade was 24th. PFF gave Indiana an 80.7 coverage grade, good for 34th in the FBS, and its biggest area of improvement is a 68.0 pass rush grade, which ranked 46th.

Indiana’s offense got a lot of the attention going into the season due to the significant number of  transfer portal additions at quarterback, wide receiver and running back. But the defense showed Saturday it shouldn’t be overlooked. 

“We were swarming the football, doing a nice job in the pass game for the most part, putting pressure on the quarterback, created a turnover,” Cignetti said. “And so, again, other than the one drive, I thought I saw pretty significant improvement.”

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