Defense Preparing for Defending National Champs

The defending champion Ohio State Buckeyes will take on the Indiana Hoosiers on Oct. 3 at 3:30 p.m. ET The game will be televised on ABC, but nobody seems to be giving Indiana much of a shot.

Yes, Indiana is 4-0 for the first time since 1990. Sure, running back Jordan Howard is the nation’s leading rusher. Just last year, Indiana played Ohio State competitively without quarterback Nate Sudfeld who is now healthy. By all accounts, this should be IU’s most successful football season in decades. But they still aren’t respected for this game to receive national hype.

Ohio State is clearly the more talented team, but the game is played on the field, on Saturdays- not on paper. The magnitude of this game can not be overstated for the Indiana football program.

“This is what you tell players you’re coming to school for,” said linebackers coach William Inge. “You’re going to play against very good competition in the Big Ten East and here we are with an opportunity to do just that.”

The team has been doing everything it can to rise to the occasion. Inge suggested that the linebacker corps works extremely hard both in the film room and on the practice field.

“We (the linebackers and running backs) go against each other in practice, so we try to see who has the best group,” Inge said. “We challenge our players to be competitively great during the week so when the weekend comes you can show it against your opponent.”

On Saturday the defense will face one of the nation’s best backs, Ezekiel Elliott. Inge believes that facing Howard in practice makes the defense prepared for the task. Inge also suggested that the team cannot over pursue or Elliott will reverse the field for big plays.

Inge added that Elliott, “gets downfield with his pads, so you have to bring it when you come to him because if not you can be facing borderline embarrassment.”

This season the defense has had its share of embarrassments causing the team to be lucky to come away with victories. Some of that is due to youth while some is likely due to communication. Inge spoke very highly of T.J. Simmons’ ability to correct those issues.

“He is one of those guys that is quietly impacting the game of football because hes not a big talker,” Inge said. “He is an action player.”

According to Inge, Simmons excels at holding teammates accountable, especially in the film room. In fact, Simmons appears to be a student of the game to the point that he puts countless hours into analyzing game tapes.

“There were times when we would come through the facility and you’d look to the meeting room and there was a little light on,” Inge said. “He was in there watching film.”

While his diligence is helping Simmons “get an edge week in and week out,” according to Inge, it is Marcus Oliver who leads the team in tackles.

“We’ve been pleased with Marcus and just like TJ he is a preparation player,” Inge went on. “He does just what you want him to do and he can do some things that cannot be coached.”

While the linebackers are expected to make plays and drive the defense, the battle in the trenches will be just as important come gameday. Defensive line coach Larry McDaniel’s group has struggled getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks this year.

“Depending on the team these guys are getting the ball out in under three seconds so its hard to generate a pass rush,” McDaniel said. “Right or wrong, defensive lines are measured by how many sacks they generate.”

To remedy this, the defensive line prides itself on getting their hands up and trying to bat down passes.

McDaniel says setting a favorable tone early will be hugely beneficial for the team.

“If you can do some positive things early it makes the flow of the game that much better,” McDaniel said. “Football is such an up and down sport, it lets you whether some storms better.”

While the team believes they can win the game, everyone knows it will not be easy.

“They’re a good football team, they’re well coached and have a lot of skill; we just have to make sure that we play our football game” Inge said. “They’re going to be physical, they’re going to get to the point of attack very fast, they’re very skilled at every position and we just have to keep the pin focused on us.”

As for the defense, McDaniel believes their game will be about successfully rushing the quarterback.

“This being the first Big Ten game, it is a big emphasis to get after the quarterback,” McDaniel said. “We expect that in true passing situations they will rush the quarterback.”

If the team can successfully pressure opposing quarterbacks, some pressure may be taken off of the young Indiana secondary.

Critics doubt the legitimacy of this undefeated Indiana football team. Some fans even do. But if the defense can carry over the momentum from their Wake Forest performance and the offense operates as it normally does, the Hoosiers just may have a chance at shocking the world. After all, Ohio State isn’t an NFL team. They just nicked out a win against Northern Illinois 20-13.