Indiana’s defense had no trouble getting after Northwestern’s quarterback Friday night. Finishing the play was the part that took more work.
The Hoosiers held on for a 29-23 win in Bloomington to move to 4-0, and the pressure numbers tell the story. Indiana generated 19 quarterback pressures as a group, with Stephen Daley, Tyrique Tucker, Tobi Osunsanmi and Mario Landino all doing damage up front. But Northwestern quarterback Aidan Chiles kept slipping away enough to keep the Wildcats in it.
Daley was the headliner. In just 32 snaps, he piled up four pressures, seven tackles, two forced fumbles, a sack and a tackle for loss. PFF graded him as Indiana’s best defensive player by a wide margin, and he now sits as the eighth-highest rated defender in all of FBS among players with at least 60 snaps this season.
Osunsanmi also made plenty of noise in the backfield, finishing with two tackles for loss and a sack. PFF, though, wasn’t nearly as kind because of his work in coverage and as a tackler. Tucker and Landino each added three pressures of their own, helping Indiana live in the pocket all night.
The linebackers gave Indiana some interesting looks. The Hoosiers opened with a four-linebacker package and returned to it at different points throughout the game, which meant true freshman Jacob Savage got the start. Savage only played two snaps, but the staff clearly sees something there.
Isaiah Jones drew the best run-defense grade from PFF, but his night was uneven when it came to finishing plays. The outlet credited him with three missed tackles, most on the team. Indiana missed nine tackles overall, and a lot of those came with Chiles in the crosshairs.
Rolijah Hardy was steadier. He posted the best tackling grade among the linebackers, finished with eight tackles, six of them solo, and didn’t miss one. Hardy left late with an injury, and Jeff Utzinger appears to be the next man up when Indiana uses two linebackers.
In the secondary, Preston Zachman was busy all night. He led the team with nine tackles, which is not usually the kind of stat line a safety wants to post, and his coverage had some rough spots. He was targeted six times, allowed six catches for 77 yards and a touchdown.
There was also a notable change at corner. Jaylen Bell started over Ryland Gandy, and Bell ended up with the best PFF coverage grade among Indiana’s defensive backs.
He was targeted twice and didn’t give up a catch. If A.J.
Harris’ injury opens the door for Bell to keep that spot, it would be a real development, even if the freshman still has plenty of growing to do. He brings a small, physical edge that calls D’Angelo Ponds to mind.
Here’s how Indiana’s 60 defensive snaps broke down:
Amare Ferrell, S (60)
Isaiah Jones, LB (60)
Jamari Sharpe, CB (60)
Jaylen Bell, CB (59)
Preston Zachman, S (58)
Rolijah Hardy, LB (48)
Mario Landino, DT (47)
Tyrique Tucker, DT (44)
Stephen Daley, DE (32)
Tobi Osunsanmi, Edge (30)
Byron Baldwin, Rover (27)
Kellan Wyatt, Edge (25)
Kaiden Turner, LB (19)
Joe Hjelle, DT (14)
Jeff Utzinger, LB (14)
Josh Burnham, Edge (14)
Chiddi Obiazor, DL (13)
Blake Smythe, DT (12)
Daniel Ndukwe, Edge (9)
Quan Sanks, S (9)
Cam McHaney, DT (4)
Jacob Savage, LB (2)
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