Todd’s Take: Make No Mistake, Indiana’s Defense Carried The Day For The Hoosiers

Indiana’s offense committed four turnovers and gave Maryland opportunities to build momentum. Indiana’s defense stepped up each time to keep the Terrapins in check.

Todd Golden | Sep 28, 2024

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

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – If you only saw the final score from Saturday’s Indiana football game against Maryland – the Hoosiers won 42-28 to improve to 5-0 for the first time since 1967 – you might assume Indiana’s offense carried the day.

If you look at the box score and see that quarterback Kurtis Rourke threw for 359 yards and three touchdowns, your belief might be reinforced. Same thing for running back Ty Son Lawton’s 93 rushing yards and Elijah Sarratt’s 7-catch, 128-yard day.

The numbers say what they say. But this was a day when Indiana’s defense set the tone. From a smashmouth start to a stifling finish.

The box score alone does not reflect how good Indiana’s defense was. Maryland racked up 401 yards of total offense. The Terrapins broke off a 75-yard touchdown run. They averaged 5.6 yards per play.

Those are Indiana’s worst defensive numbers of the season. It’s why numbers alone never tell the whole tale.

What does is how a unit responds when thrown to the wolves. That’s where Indiana’s defense found itself after the offense was uncharacteristically generous with the ball.

Rourke threw two interceptions in the first quarter, the first two turnovers Indiana committed this season. A road team dreams of getting two takeaways to start the game. It’s the best way to put the opponent on their heels and take the crowd out of the game.

Indiana’s defense refused to let that happen. After the first interception, the tone was set. Maryland quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. was pressured on his first play, an incomplete pass. On his second pass attempt, big defensive tackle CJ West wrapped him up for a 7-yard sack.

After Rourke’s second interception, this one a bit more dangerous as it occurred at midfield, the defense answered the bell again. Edwards threw an incomplete pass and was then sacked by James Carpenter. The result was another three-and-out for the Terps, and the Hoosiers could breathe easy.

It’s a tough spot to be in as a defender when you have to get a stop after a turnover. Linebacker Aiden Fisher explained the mentality the Hoosiers employed.

Indiana Hoosiers defensive lineman CJ West (8) and linebacker Aiden Fisher (4) celebrate after a defensive stop against the Maryland Terrapins during the first half at Memorial Stadium. / Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

“We're thinking they think they have the momentum now. They're trying to build on that. This game is just full of momentum. So once you get that rolling, it's hard to stop,” Fisher said. “So in our mind, what we're trying to do is stop that momentum before it can even get started.”

It wasn’t just the momentum killers that helped Indiana. The Hoosiers set a nasty tone that only slipped once or twice for the remainder of the game.

The Hoosiers would sack Edwards five times. Carpenter had 2 sacks, Mikail Kamara and West had one each. Linebackers Jailin Walker and Aiden Fisher shared a sack.

“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.

Edwards was never comfortable, and it should also be pointed out that two of his key completions – one a touchdown and one a catch that kept a scoring drive alive – came off of freakish tipped balls that found Terrapin receivers.

Indiana wasn’t done turning the ball over after the early interceptions. Kaelon Black fumbled with five minutes left in the second quarter at the Maryland 41-yard line. At the time, it was a 7-7 game.

The defense wasn’t daunted. They forced a three-and-out to keep Maryland from gaining a foothold.

Finally, in the fourth quarter, Rourke fumbled the ball with Indiana trying to protect a 35-21 lead. Once again, the defense swept aside any angst.

Indiana's James Carpenter (99) celebrates with Daniel Ndukwe (91) after Ndukwe's blocked a punt 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

Carpenter had another sack as the Terps went backward seven yards to take away much hope of a comeback. It was one of three series where Maryland turned over the ball on downs in the second half.

“I think we handled (adversity) well,” Kamara said. “We responded. We had turnovers, we had a one-play touchdown. That’s usually when losing teams would probably get down on themselves, start arguing. That’s when the gap opens up, but we handled it pretty well.”

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti credited the defensive line.

“That's where it all starts, up front. We're experienced up front. We think it's one of our strengths, and it was definitely one of the areas that they weren't feeling too great about coming into the game. We needed a big win there, and I think we got it,” Cignetti said.

Indiana’s strength in its 5-0 start has been its complimentary football. The offense has taken advantage of what the defense has given them and vice versa in a relatively balanced way. There’s a trust factor at work that is part of the Hoosiers’ identity.

For the first time on Saturday, one side needed a little bit of help as the Hoosiers’ offense needed to be rescued from its own mistakes.

Time and again, the Indiana defense was up to the task. This game is theirs to savor. They gave Indiana’s players, coaches and fans the chance to dream about the possibilities of what a 5-0 start can mean for the Hoosiers.

If the defense hadn’t done that, the Hoosiers could have just as easily lamented the what ifs.

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