Road To 10-0: Indiana Gets Pushed By Maryland, But Defense Shoves Back

Hoosiers On SI looks back game-by-game at the path Indiana football took to create a dream season. How did this game inform what we know now that we didn't know then?

Indiana's CJ West (8) sacks Maryland's Billy Edwards Jr. (9) during the Indiana versus Maryland football game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana’s football team is in the midst of its second bye week of the season. It wasn’t long ago that bye weeks were looked at as respites from gridiron misery for the Hoosiers, but Curt Cignetti’s 2024 team has flipped the script.

Indiana has had an unprecedented season. The 10-0 record amassed by the Hoosiers has never been achieved in program history. With the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff in place in just the nick of time to give a historic season its possible proper reward, a world of possibilities is in front of Indiana in a way no one would have dreamed of in August.

The bye week provides an opportunity to reflect on what has been with just two regular season games left, at No. 2 Ohio State Nov. 23 and at home against Purdue Nov. 30. Hoosiers On SI will take a look at each game and put into context how each fits into the puzzle of what has been a perfect season.

We’ll continue as Indiana plays its first Big Ten home game against Maryland.

Narrative Entering The Game – With a 4-0 start and two winnable Big Ten games ahead of the Hoosiers – a home game against Maryland and a road game at Northwestern – it had become crystal clear that bowl eligibility was firmly within Indiana’s grasp.

Given that Indiana had fallen at least two wins shy of bowl eligibility in the previous three seasons, this marked major progress.

The other theme was and is one that has repeated itself throughout the 2024 season – the ever-tougher tests. Given that UCLA struggled in the first month of the season, Maryland was considered to be a better team at the time. The Terrapins would be the best team Indiana had faced to that point in the season. Could the Hoosiers cope?

Pregame Coverage

• MEET THE OPPONENT: Analysis of Maryland before the game against the Hoosiers. CLICK HERE.

• PREDICTIONS, THREE KEYS: What Hoosiers On SI thought the keys would be and a score prediction. CLICK HERE.

• WIDE RECEIVERS SHARE THE LOAD: Indiana's wide receivers share the ball and don't let their egos get in the way of team success. CLICK HERE.

The Result – Maryland hung in there with the Hoosiers well into the second half. A 75-yard run by Maryland running back Roman Hemby tied the game at 21 with 7:21 left in the third quarter. Unfazed, the Hoosiers scored the next 21 points to pull away for a 42-28 victory at rainy Memorial Stadium.

Indiana's James Carpenter (99) celebrates his sack of Maryland's Billy Edwards Jr. (9) during the Indiana versus Maryland football game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Player Fans Learned To Love – DT James Carpenter: The workhorse was one of the stars for an Indiana defense that put maximum pressure on Maryland quarterback Billy Edwards Jr.

Carpenter was in the middle of all of it. He had two sacks, accounting for his two tackles for loss.

Carpenter led FBS in snaps with 856 in 2023 at James Madison. He hasn’t had to carry the same load at Indiana with CJ West, Tyrique Tucker and Marcus Burris in the line rotation with him, but he has still averaged 46.5 snaps in 2024 with the Hoosiers.

By Pro Football Focus standards, Carpenter is credited with 21 quarterback hurries, second only to Mikail Kamara (29) on the team.

Trend That Would Stick – Defensive Pass Rush Gets Nasty: Indiana’s defense had been good all season, but the Hoosiers set a new standard against the Terrapins – even though the overall numbers did not seem to indicate it.

Maryland had 401 yards of total offense and averaged 5.6 yards per play, a number boosted by Hemby’s 75-yard run, but still a healthy average.

However, Indiana put pressure on quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. throughout the contest. Indiana had five sacks and eight tackles for loss. The pressure came early and never ceased. Edwards never had time to get comfortable to find Maryland’s talented receivers, Tai Felton and Kaden Prather, for long gainers.

Kamara thought the tone was set early when Indiana got the first of its sacks.

“There’s nothing like getting a sack in the first quarter. That’s when you know you have them at your mercy. Those were huge,” Kamara said.

Indiana’s defensive pressure has never let up. Since Big Ten play resumed for good with this game, one of the Hoosiers’ hallmarks has been making opposing quarterbacks nervous to face the pressure Indiana can consistently bring to bear on them.

Indiana's Kaelon Black (8) fumbles during the Indiana versus Maryland football game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Any Postgame Worries? – Indiana had been turnover-free in the first four games, but giveaways were an issue for the Hoosiers. Quarterback Kurtis Rourke threw interceptions on the first two Indiana series and later fumbled. Running back Kaelon Black added a fumble.

Would turnovers hurt Indiana in league play? Hardly.

Since the Maryland game, Indiana has only turned it over three times total. The four turnovers against Maryland represent more than half of the Hoosiers’ season total. It was worrisome at the time, but turned out to be an aberration in the long view.

Narrative Exiting The Game – Indiana’s offense was moving like a tremendous machine. Indiana did not score fewer than 31 points in its 5-0 start and had topped 40 in its last four games. So far, no defense had proven capable of stopping the Hoosiers.

Another narrative entered the Indiana zeitgeist. The 5-0 start was Indiana’s best since 1967. The Hoosiers’ famous 1967 season would be a benchmark in games over the course of the next month after this one. The Hoosiers were on the chase to make history.

Pro Football Focus stars (top 5 scoring players in each unit, 10 plays or more)  – Offense: LT Carter Smith (83.2), RT Trey Wedig (77.3), WR Elijah Sarratt (76.9), WR Omar Cooper Jr. (75.7), RB Ty Son Lawton (73.3); Defense: DE Mikail Kamara (89.6), LB Aiden Fisher (83.4), DT CJ West (80.5), LB Jailin Walker (72.6), Edge rusher Lanell Carr Jr. (72.6).

Postgame Coverage

• INDIANA BATTLES THROUGH MISTAKES: Hoosiers battle through turnovers to earn victory over Maryland. CLICK HERE.

• DEFENSE CARRIES THE DAY: Todd Golden writes about how Indiana's defense got nasty. CLICK HERE.

• BEATING MARYLAND PERSONAL FOR KAMARA: Mikail Kamara had a very special reason to want to beat Maryland. CLICK HERE.

Next game – Indiana goes back on the road as it travels to Northwestern.

Related stories on Indiana football

• ROAD TO 10-0 - CHARLOTTE: Hoosiers surge past Charlotte after close first half. CLICK HERE.

• ROAD TO 10-0 - UCLA: Indiana earns an eye-opening victory at the Rose Bowl as more fans and national observers began to take notice. CLICK HERE.

• ROAD TO 10-0 - WIU: Indiana romped past FCS Western Illinois to keep its good vibes flowing. CLICK HERE.

• ROAD TO 10-0 - FIU: Indiana's road to 10-0 began with the season opener against Florida International. If we knew then what we know now ... CLICK HERE.