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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Related

Bryson Tucker

Wing | Indiana

Height: 6’6″ | Weight: 180 lbs 

2025 Draft Age: 18.97

At any level of basketball, wings with good positional size and the ability to generate points are extremely important. That’s why Tucker is such an intriguing prospect, who at 6-foot-6 brings a lot to the table despite being extremely young. 

Tucker thrives in the midrange and has proven to be very effective in scoring from that area, but still struggles when stepping out beyond the arc. That will be a huge swing for him as it relates to draft stock as his lack of a consistent 3-point shot is limiting for him today. When Tucker gets to his spots, he’s very efficient with his movements. He doesn’t waste dribbles and plays the angles well. The young freshman also plays with good pace and generally makes quality decisions with the ball in his hands. Again, Tucker does a little bit of everything on the floor. He’s an adequate passer for a wing and has also proven to be a quality glass cleaner on both ends of the floor when it comes to rebounding.

One of the most intriguing things about Tucker is his two-way upside. There’s a case to be made that what he brings on the defensive end is actually the best part of his game. Tucker covers ground quickly and has the frame to defend multiple positions. He defends with physicality and isn’t afraid of the moment. The Indiana freshman likes to take on the opposing team’s best perimeter scorer and is usually very effective at slowing that player down. That defensive versatility will prove to be very valuable moving forward.

Tucker is one of the youngest players in this upcoming draft class, as he will be 18 on the night of the 2025 NBA Draft. Even then, he’s a well-developed prospect who does things that could help an NBA team as a rookie. The former four-star recruit was widely considered a top-25 player in his high school class and has as much upside as any freshman in the country this season. His father played college ball at NC State and was a standout scorer, so Tucker will look to follow in his footsteps at this level. 

Potential Second-Round Pick in 2025 NBA Draft.

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One of the few remaining items on the Indiana Pacers 2024 offseason checklist is their rookie scale team options, but it’s an easy item for the team to navigate.

Outside of considering an extension for center Isaiah Jackson, the Pacers don’t have much in terms of roster decisions to consider this summer. For players on rookie scale deals, their contracts have two team options — they cover the third and fourth seasons of the deal. But they have to be decided on a full season in advance. For example, as a player on a rookie-scale deal enters their second season, their third-year team option must have a decision made.

The deadline for these decisions is October 31. Rookie scale deals are given, by default, to players drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft.

Indiana has three players who have a rookie-scale team option decision coming within the next two months. Ben Sheppard and Jarace Walker, who were drafted in 2023, as well as Bennedict Mathurin, who was drafted in 2022, have team options on their contract coming their way.

Walker and Sheppard’s deal have a third-year team option decision while Mathurin’s deal has a fourth year option. There are some specifics involved, but all three choices are no-brainers.

Sheppard was in the Pacers playoff rotation as a rookie and started a few games. His team option, which covers the 2025-26 season, is for just under $2.8 million. Walker’s is for $6.6 million — he was selected in the NBA Draft lottery.

Mathurin’s is a fourth-year team option, and he’s a high-ceiling youngster. His option is for just over $9.1 million, and he is a talented scorer and play finisher for a 22-year old. His growth is a massive storyline for Indiana this season.

Sheppard and Mathurin are young rotation players, which makes their team options a no-brainer. Walker doesn’t play as much yet, but his potential at an important position is high, and Indiana has no reason to decline his option. There isn’t any debate with these decisions.

The blue and gold have an expensive and full roster for the 2025-26 campaign already. Keeping young, cheap talent is a must. The Pacers almost certainly will pick up all three of these team options and keep developing the youngsters.