Indiana’s 20-17 win over Nebraska wasn’t just another close finish. It was a straight-up defensive scrap, the kind that gets sharper when you dig past the score and into the individual snaps.
Both teams came in averaging more than 40 points a game, so a final total under 40 told its own story. Indiana held on unbeaten, but Nebraska had its moments and actually posted better numbers in a lot of categories. The difference was that Indiana’s defense kept landing the bigger blows when it mattered.
A look through Pro Football Focus helps explain how the Hoosiers survived. It’s not the whole picture, but it does surface the plays that don’t always jump out from the box score.
Mario Landino was Indiana’s top-graded defender, and he did it while carrying a heavy load with 60 snaps. The defensive tackle was a problem inside all game, grading well against both the run and the pass.
He finished with an 81.8 overall grade, including a 78.1 in run defense and a 76.8 as a pass rusher. Landino also got a hand on a pass, and he ended with three stops and that broken-up throw.
Off the edge, Tobi Osunsanmi brought the heat. He piled up a team-high five total pressures, including one sack and two quarterback hits, and his 75.0 overall grade was backed up by a 76.8 pass-rush mark that matched Landino for best on the team. Indiana kept getting disruptive plays from multiple spots, and Osunsanmi was right in the middle of it.
At safety, Preston Zachman gave the Hoosiers stability from start to finish. He played all 87 snaps and never came off the field.
Zachman posted a team-best 83.9 tackling grade and didn’t miss one tackle. He also erased his primary coverage assignment, allowing zero yards on one target, and helped hold Nebraska to 6.0 yards per attempt through the air.
The other big wrinkle came from Indiana’s outside linebackers. Rolijah Hardy and Isaiah Jones each logged 87 snaps, but Nebraska kept coming after them in the passing game. Together, they allowed 11 completions on 12 targets for 122 yards, and Hardy gave up 47 yards after the catch.
Those are the kinds of details that help explain how Indiana came out of a defensive fight still unbeaten.
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