Monday Aftermath: One more look back and an early look ahead

Here is this week’s look at the good and not so good from Indiana's 36-22 win over Florida International on Saturday.

1. The defense - No seriously guys, the defense.

Forcing three turnovers, each of which led directly to three touchdowns, the Hoosier D earned a bit of retribution after the 659-yard debacle that was Week 1 against Southern Illinois. On the verge of allowing another potential game-tying TD late, the Hoosiers buckled down in the red zone for a game-saving pick-six by freshman Jameel Cook, Jr. What could have spelled disaster turned into a potential early-season turning point for the young secondary.

2. Nick Mangieri - While Cook provided the late heroics in the secondary it was the veteran that stepped up. Mangieri scooped up a first-half fumble by FIU quarterback Alex McGough and later had a strip sack that gave IU field position to set up another score. The return of Darius Latham inside seemed to unleash Mangieri's pass rush, which took pressure off the young DBs and improved the overall defensive effort.

3. Jordan Howard - How does one show their gratitude to UAB for the short sighted decision to drop football briefly late last year? Without that bit of temporary insanity, Howard is still burning Conference USA defenses weekly instead of becoming the new bell-cow in IU's pulverizing ground attack. Another week, another 100-plus yard effort for Howard, who had 159 yards on 27 carries. While he lacks the explosive breakaway running speed that became a trademark of Tevin Coleman a year ago, Howard has proven capable of being a bit more of a power runner than his Heisman candidate predecessor.

The not so good

1. Big Plays allowed - The defense doesn't totally get off the hook - this is IU football after all. While the turnovers where nice, Indiana still allowed three scoring plays of at least 20 yards and gave up a 75-yard touchdown pass to Thomas Owens one-play after Griffin Oakes had kicked a field goal to make it 7-6 in the first half.

2. Nate Sudfeld - Tough grading perhaps to criticize a guy who threw for 234 yards and ran for two scores, but the senior did commit a turnovers on offense and missed several throws that could have led to big plays. In IU's hyper-efficient rhythmic offense, a completion percentage under 60 percent is less than ideal. Sudfeld hit on only 19-of-33, numbers that will have to improve as the opposing defenses improve.

3. Oakes - While the sophomore from Greenwood has solidified a spotty kicking situation since he took the job last year, Saturday didn't prove to be one of his finest efforts. He missed a field goal late in the first half and also misfired on a PAT attempt when Indiana took its first lead at 19-14. Leaving points off the scoreboard with special teams could burn a team in a close game at some point this season.

A look at future Hoosier foes

* Western Kentucky got its offense back in high gear as it scored a 41-38 victory over Louisiana Tech in a clash of Conference USA heavyweights. The Hilltoppers rang up 585 yards of total offense against Tech - including 441 through the air behind sixth-year senior quarterback Brandon Doughty.

* WKU lost tailback Leon Allen to a gruesome knee injury and his replacement D'Andre Ferby struggled to a 2.8 yards per carry average. Allen was a big part of what the Hilltoppers did on offense, so replacing him will be key against the Hoosiers.

* Second-year Hilltopper coach Jeff Brohm is a star on the rise in the coaching ranks. A year after taking over for Bobby Petrino, Brohm has already been linked to the upcoming Big Ten coaching vacancy at Illinois and his name will likely be mentioned with more openings this winter.

* IU's final non-conference foe, Wake Forest, dropped its ACC opener on the road Saturday, 30-17. The Deamon Deacons led 17-13 at intermission but could not find the scoreboard in the second half.

* Big Ten teams went 12-2 over the weekend. The biggest victory came from Michigan State as it upended No. 7 Oregon 31-28. Minnesota pulled out a surprising 23-20 overtime win on the road and Purdue picked up its first victory of the season by beating Indiana State 38-14.