Ole Miss Tempo Stifles Indiana's Defensive Formula in Outback Bowl

Indiana's defense created at least one takeaway in all of its regular season games. The Hoosiers had zero against Ole Miss.

TAMPA, Fla. — Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral said he knew what Indiana's defense was throwing at them for most of the game.

Indiana's bread and butter on defense this season has been disguising blitzes and creating takeaways. On Saturday in the Outback Bowl, Indiana struggled to do both of those things.

Ole Miss finished with 493 total yards of offense in the 26-20 victory over the Hoosiers.

Corral threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns. His yardage was the most a quarterback has thrown against Indiana this season — Ohio State QB Justin Fields threw for 300 against the Hoosiers earlier this year.

"They do bring a lot of pressure. They do a really good job of disguising it, and they're very well-coached," Corral said. "But I mean, we didn't know what they were doing every single time, but the majority of the time we did know who was plugging, who was coming from the — like they were either bringing a corner cat or the Mike or boundary backers plugging or you get the field fist. Based an what type of blitz it was, you would know what coverage it is, and our coaches did a heck of a job."

Usually when the Hoosiers' offense gets off to a sluggish start, the defense is there to make a play or get big stops. Ole Miss was 6-of-14 on third downs and 2-of-2 on fourth downs.

Indiana is also a team that likes to substitute a lot on the defensive side of the ball, but because Ole Miss ran such a fast tempo, it became hard for the Hoosiers to do that.

"I think that definitely played a factor in the game. I saw a lot of guys tightening up towards the end of the game," Indiana linebacker Micah McFadden. "Some even towards the middle of the game. Yeah, it was tough to get subs in."

The quick tempo also made it difficult for Indiana to disguise things as much as it likes to.

"To me the tempo is really the hardest part," head coach Tom Allen said. "We rely so much on disguising things. It's hard to do that because you're just trying to get lined up to play a snap. You have to give them different looks, different things to be able to match up with them."

Indiana even had a majority of the crowd behind them at Raymond James Stadium, but Ole Miss would move so fast, that as soon as the fans would rise to get loud, the Rebels would already be snapping the ball.

When Indiana tied the game at 20-20 with 5:58 to go, the defense needed one more big stop. But the ensuing Ole Miss drive was six plays for 63 yards in 1:47.

"We shouldn't have let them drive down the field and score their final touchdown," McFadden said. "Can't take any of that back now."

The Hoosiers came up with at least one takeaway in their seven regular season. But against Ole Miss, the Hoosiers couldn't muster up one.

Allen thought that was the difference in the game. Indiana's offense turned it over twice, and the Hoosiers' defense couldn't create any takeaways, resulting in a six-point loss.

"We just needed one more takeaway, needed a takeaway. Not having any, it's just not how we've been successful," Allen said. "Whether it's a bowl game or regular season game, you got a formula for success. When you don't stick with that formula, oftentimes you don't get what you want."

Related stories on Outback Bowl game

• GAME STORY: Indiana comes up short against Ole Miss, losing 26-20 on Saturday in the Outback Bowl in Tampa. CLICK HERE
• TOM BREW COLUMN: Loss doesn't diminish the greatness of this 2020 season for Indiana. CLICK HERE
• TUTTLE INJURY: Indiana quarterback Jack Tuttle fought through a separated shoulder throughout Saturday's game. CLICK HERE
• OLE MISS PACE: The Rebels used a fast-paced passing game to keep Indiana's defense on its heels, and it worked in a turnover-free game. CLICK HERE
• LIVE BLOG: Relive the Indiana-Ole Miss game in real time with fresh news and opinion as it happens. CLICK HERE
• TAMPA CONNECTION: Today's game will be a homecoming for a lot of Hoosiers. Indiana has 22 players on its roster from the state of Florida. For the full story, CLICK HERE
• OLE MISS CONNECTION: Five members of the Indiana coaching staff previously worked at Ole Miss. For the full story, CLICK HERE.