Indiana Defense Not Satisfied Despite Dominant Performances

Indiana’s defense has given up just one touchdown and one field goal through two wins against Florida International, both of which came on its final possession of the first half.

Indiana's Aiden Fisher (4) and the defense celebrateagainst Western Illinois at Memorial Stadium. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – For a second straight week, Indiana’s defense put together a near-perfect performance.

The offense may get more of the plaudits after Friday’s 77-3 win over Western Illinois because it set the program’s all-time single-game scoring and total yardage (701) records. But including last week’s 31-7 win over Florida International, Indiana’s defense has kept pace with its counterpart.

Defensive coordinator Bryant Haines’ unit allowed just 182 total yards and 3.1 yards per play against FIU, and it was even more stifling on Friday night, giving up 121 total yards and 2.3 yards per play to Western Illinois. 

But in both games, the defense’s lone letdown came in the same moment. Indiana allowed a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive against FIU, which concluded with just 52 seconds left in the first half. On Friday, Western Illinois’ drove 69 yards across 12 plays and settled for a field goal with 30 seconds left in the first half.

Despite the lopsided scores in both games, those end-of-half drives left something to be desired.

“That was pretty bad, I’ll be completely honest,” Indiana defensive end Mikail Kamara said Friday. “That was pretty bad. The same thing happened last week, so we gotta end the halves a lot better. That’s something we’re definitely going to be focusing on, especially that middle eight. That’s something we gotta do better going forward.”

The reason behind those drives?

“Maybe just a little bit of complacency,” Kamara said. “Guys just kind of settling down, getting ready for halftime instead of keeping their foot on the pedal.”

And the solution?

“Communicating whenever we see some of the guys get a little too happy, not happy, but when they get a little too fat and happy, we just gotta bring ‘em down a little bit,” Kamara said. “But little things like this, them scoring at halftime, things like that should humble us down.”

Indiana's Mikail Kamara (6) celebrates his sack of Western Illinois' Nathan Lamb (12) at Memorial Stadium. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said postgame there were a few defensive mistakes and substitutions during Western Illinois' scoring drive, though he didn’t want to give a full evaluation until watching the film. But in general, he knows from 14 years of head coaching that the beginning and end of halves are crucial to sustained success.

“We've been starting the third quarter well, but we haven't finished the half well,” Cignetti said. “We've been starting the game well and finishing the game well too. There's a lot more positives, but just like 98 percent of the teams in the country, we have a couple things to work on and improve on.”

Outside of those two drives, Indiana’s defense has mimicked what made James Madison successful in 2023. Kamara and five other first-year Hoosiers played on that James Madison defense, which led the nation in tackles for loss and run defense. 

Indiana totaled four sacks and eight tackles for loss against FIU, followed by six sacks and eight tackles for loss against Western Illinois. Neither team was able to run the ball, with FIU gaining 53 yards on 30 carries and Western Illinois rushing for just 12 yards on 26 attempts. 

Indiana Hoosiers defensive lineman Marcus Burris Jr. (92) celebrates after a sack against Florida International at Memorial Stadium. / Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Kamara said nothing is really new from last season for him, it’s just a matter of proving it at the Big Ten level. That begins next week at UCLA, and he’s confident defensive success in the first two games will carry over.

“We feel good, but teams like [Western Illinois], we gotta keep a foot on their jugular,” Kamara said. “That’s what good teams do, and that’s how we view ourselves as. That’s something – obviously a win’s a win and it’s hard to win in college football, but this is something that should not happen.”

“I don’t know what you guys think of our defense right now, but I expect us to blow all that out the water. I expect us to really show everyone what this defense is about.”

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• INDIANA EARNS RECORD-SETTING WIN: Indiana sets multiple records in its 77-3 rout over Western Illinois. CLICK HERE.

• SARRATT'S BIG GAME: A highly-touted transfer from James Madison, Elijah Sarratt had his breakout game as a Hoosier against the Leathernecks. CLICK HERE

• TODD'S TAKE: Indiana got an easy win and Western Illinois got paid. It was a record night at Memorial Stadium, but at some point? The domination is diminished given the weakness of the opponent and fans are left watching a game that just doesn't have much in it for them. CLICK HERE.

• WHAT CIGNETTI SAID: Read every word Curt Cignetti said about Indiana's 77-3 win over Western Illinois. CLICK HERE.