Indiana
Breaking down Indiana football’s late first-half defensive issues
Indiana football opened its 2024 season with two dominant victories over Florida International and Western Illinois.
But the Hoosiers’ biggest stain in both games was similar. They allowed their opponents to drive downfield and record their only score of the game in the final minutes of the first half.
After two straight weeks allowing subpar non-conference opponents to march downfield and score at the end of the second quarter, two-minute drill defense is one of IU football’s bigger issues early this season.
“That was pretty bad, I’ll be completely honest. That was pretty bad. Cause the same thing happened last week,” defensive end Mikail Kamara said after the Western Illinois game. “So we’ve got to end the halves a lot better. That’s something we’re definitely going to be focusing on, especially that middle eight. So that’s something we’ve got to do better going forward.”
The drives near the end of the second quarter against FIU and Western Illinois both lasted 13 plays, including the Leathernecks’ field goal. But the Panthers drive took over four minutes of game time, while WIU’s lasted around two.
The film reveals that IU utilized different approaches to these two series, but got burned both times.
When FIU got the ball back with 4:53 left in the half after an IU touchdown, defensive coordinator Bryant Haines remained aggressive. He continued to bring blitzes and pressures to stymie shifty Panthers quarterback Keyone Jenkins. And those pressures backfired on several occasions.
The Panthers called plays — some were audibles from Jenkins — that negated IU’s rush in different ways. Most of these were quick hitters, like a slant or toss, that opened up looks without requiring time for the play to develop. That strategy produced mostly short gains — FIU’s biggest play of the scoring drive was an 11-yard completion. Key missed tackles by defensive tackle CJ West and defensive end Venson Sneed Jr. made things worse, and the Panthers capitalized with their only score of the game.
“The end of the second quarter didn’t go the way we were expecting,” linebacker Aiden Fisher said after the FIU game. “We did a lot of sloppy things, a lot of messy things, missing tackles, bad angles, just really not what our defense is about.”
Haines called the late-half drive against Western Illinois more conservatively.
Indiana spent most of the Leathernecks’ scoring drive sitting in zone coverage, mostly in the base defense without heavy pass rush. IU’s safeties sat deep in pass coverage, leaving plenty of space for WIU receivers. Jamier Johnson and D’Angelo Ponds both got beat during the drive, and Jailin Walker also missed a tackle early in the series that led to the first WIU first down of the game.
Western Illinois exploited the spacious coverage for some bigger gains than FIU got on its drive. The biggest play of the drive, a 30-yard pass that put WIU in the red zone, happened because the Leathernecks found a soft spot in the zone coverage and took advantage.
Even head coach Curt Cignetti may have made a mistake during this series: he declined an illegal formation penalty on the Leathernecks that would’ve given them second and 11 from their own 44 as opposed to third and six from the 49. The individual decision didn’t matter as much in a blowout game, but the longer yardage would’ve made it tougher for WIU to extend its drive.
The Hoosiers were too easy to pick apart on that drive, both because of scheme and individual mistakes.
Cignetti didn’t want to discuss much detail on the Western Illinois series after the game before he could watch the tape.
“There were probably a couple mistakes in there. I think we had subbed a little bit at certain positions also,” Cignetti said. “You’ve got to finish the half well. You’ve got to start the third quarter well. We’ve been starting the third quarter well, but we haven’t finished the half well. 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.”
These scoring drives didn’t impact either game that much, as the Hoosiers had full control of both contests. But if IU’s late-half problems resurface against better opponents, it could spell trouble.
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ST. JOSEPH COUNTY (WSBT) — A unique way to age cheese is happening in St. Joseph county, where Indiana’s first underground cheese cave is located.
A family-owned business called J2K Capraio handcrafts and ages varieties of both goat and cow milk cheese in the underground cave.
Each year, they age thousands of pounds of cheese, Joe Klinedinst is one of the owners overseeing the process.
In Walkerton, the family, we were fortunate enough to build through the help of different mentors throughout the country, but built Indiana’s first underground cheese cave. There we age between 20 and 25 thousand pounds of cheese per year in some years more, said Klinedinst.
The cave is naturally cooled, developing the rind and flavors of the cheese as it ages.
This process can take months or even years.
“In this underground cave it’s naturally cooled you’re getting the flavors of the earth and the natural terrar of our area and we’re able to do cheeses that are aged anywhere from 90 days all the way up to two to three years,” said Klinedinst.
It’s a slightly different process than how cheese is normally aged or made.
So this cave allows you to not have air being blown as in it’s not a walk-in cooler kind of situation, it’s just the natural temperature of the earth which is perfect for the cheese so it ages up more consistent a little bit slower, said Klinedinst.
The method creates a distinct taste in the cave-aged cheeses, retaining flavors from the natural terrain of the area, which is one of the reasons the family chose to build the cave.
And then you also pull the flavors, I know it sounds odd but from the walls in the earth, and as soon as you bite into a cheese that’s been aged in a cave or a different type of facility you know it as soon as you do, and that’s what led us to the cave, said Klinedinst.
The local family owned business has been selling their products in the South Bend area for 20-years.
They started at the South Bend Farmer’s market, but now operate the Artesian deli and cheese stop Oh Mamma’s on the Avenue where they sell these cave-aged cheeses in wheels, half wheels, or small blocks or wedges.
Alabama’s defense has a lot on its plate.
There aren’t many weaknesses that pop off the page when studying the Indiana offense they will face in Thursday’s Rose Bowl.
The Crimson Tide will get a boost with the return of a key piece of its front seven, who has been missing the last few weeks. Starting defensive end LT Overton is back at practice after missing the last two games with an undisclosed illness.
“I think it’s a tremendous blessing for our team,” defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said Sunday. “It’s awesome for us. He obviously needs to have a good couple of days here, but he’s certainly on track. To have him in this game, his experience and his excitement of wanting to get back on the field … he’s an ultimate competitor.”
Overton has four sacks — second most on the team — among his 35 tackles this season.
Wommack said Overton’s ability to stay in shape while missing the SEC title game and CFP opener was crucial in his ability to return.
“He looks great now,” Wommack said.
Alabama found success getting to the quarterback in the CFP first-round win over Oklahoma with a season-high five sacks, but Indiana will be a whole different beast. The Hoosiers allow just 1.39 sacks a game in an offense that’s balanced and explosive.
It has Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza and the nation’s No. 10 rushing offense, averaging 221.2 yards per game.
Wommack, previously a linebacker coach and defensive coordinator at Indiana from 2019-20, said this Hoosier offense is as disciplined and as detailed as any offense Alabama’s seen.
“Offensively, I think they’re highly efficient, very explosive,” Wommack said. “That starts with their quarterback. He knows where to go with the ball. He’s very decisive, makes great decisions with the ball and can. Can make all the throws and can make the explosive plays when it matters most … I think their physicality shows up on tape. They play the game physically from an offensive line standpoint.”
The efficiency is clear on paper.
Indiana’s No. 4 nationally in points per play (0.578), No. 6 in yards per play (6.7) and No. 1 in third-down conversions (55.8%).
Cornerback Zabien Brown noted the care Indiana takes with preserving possession.
“Facing an opponent that does a great job of taking care of the ball really puts more stress reading our keys,” Brown said, “and trusting being able to pull the trigger and make plays in that smaller margin when opportunities pop up.
The Hoosiers’ eight turnovers in 13 games are tied for the third fewest in the nation. That includes just one lost fumble that occurred in the season opener, Aug. 30, in a win over Old Dominion.
Alabama has 20 takeaways, the 32nd most, with 11 interceptions and nine fumble recoveries.
Facing Mendoza in the first game since winning the Heisman Trophy sounds like a motivating factor in Tuscaloosa.
“He’s a man, just like me,” defensive lineman Tim Keenan said. “But he’s a great Heisman winner. He put himself in the position to get the accolades, so we’re going to make sure we do what we need to do to play our game.”
Brown, who intercepted a pass at Oklahoma and returned it for a touchdown, said Mendoza “is definitely the best quarterback we’ve faced all year.”
And Keon Sabb, an Alabama safety, was brief in his remarks when asked about Mendoza.
“He’s a really good player, whether he won the Heisman or not,” Sabb said. “Congrats to him for winning that, but we’re going to play our game.”
Alabama and Indiana kick off in the Rose Bowl quarterfinal at 3 p.m. CT Thursday in Pasadena. The winner advances to the Peach Bowl semifinal on Jan. 9 in Atlanta.
Indiana Pacers (6-26, 15th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Houston Rockets (19-10, fourth in the Western Conference)
Houston; Monday, 8 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Indiana visits Houston looking to stop its four-game road skid.
The Rockets are 9-2 on their home court. Houston is 8-1 when it wins the turnover battle and averages 15.1 turnovers per game.
The Pacers are 1-14 in road games. Indiana gives up 119.2 points to opponents and has been outscored by 9.4 points per game.
The Rockets are shooting 48.9% from the field this season, 0.9 percentage points higher than the 48.0% the Pacers allow to opponents. The Pacers’ 43.3% shooting percentage from the field this season is 2.9 percentage points lower than the Rockets have given up to their opponents (46.2%).
TOP PERFORMERS: Alperen Sengun is averaging 22.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.5 steals for the Rockets. Kevin Durant is averaging 30 points and seven assists over the past 10 games.
Pascal Siakam is averaging 23.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists for the Pacers. Bennedict Mathurin is averaging 25.0 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Rockets: 5-5, averaging 117.7 points, 46.7 rebounds, 26.3 assists, 8.1 steals and 6.2 blocks per game while shooting 50.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 114.4 points per game.
Pacers: 2-8, averaging 107.9 points, 41.3 rebounds, 24.3 assists, 7.3 steals and 5.1 blocks per game while shooting 44.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 117.1 points.
INJURIES: Rockets: Alperen Sengun: day to day (calf), Fred VanVleet: out for season (acl).
Pacers: Obi Toppin: out (foot), Ben Sheppard: day to day (calf), Isaiah Jackson: day to day (concussion), Tyrese Haliburton: out for season (achilles), T.J. McConnell: day to day (hamstring).
——
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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