No. 9 Indiana gets a shot at history and a shot at the Big Ten race on Saturday when No. 18 USC comes to Bloomington for the Trojans’ first visit since 1981.
The Hoosiers have never beaten USC, going 0-4 all-time against the Trojans. The teams have not met since 1982, when Indiana was still deep into a 58-year stretch without a Big Ten title. This time around, the stakes are much different: Indiana is 8-1 overall and 5-1 in conference play, sitting alone in second place in the Big Ten and one game behind undefeated UCLA.
USC arrives at 7-2 overall and 4-2 in the league, part of a six-team tie for third place as Week 11 begins. The Trojans are trying to keep themselves in the hunt for next month’s Big Ten Championship Game after jolting their season back to life on Halloween with a 30-18 win over Ohio State.
That night started fast. Jayden Maiava hit Trent Mosley for a 69-yard touchdown pass less than a minute into the game, and USC will be looking for more of that kind of instant damage against an Indiana defense that has made explosive plays hard to find.
Tucker Ashcraft said after Tuesday’s evening practice that the Trojans need to be sharp when chances come.
"Just take advantage of all our opportunities. Find the space in their zones, and make big plays," he said.
That’s easier said than done against a Hoosiers defense that has been one of the toughest in the country to stretch. Indiana has given up only 25 plays of 20 yards or more, which ranks 13th fewest nationally, and only three plays of 40 yards or more, tied for fifth fewest.
The Hoosiers have also been excellent on third down, holding opponents to a 31.6% conversion rate. USC has been strong in that area too, with opponents converting just 35.9% of the time, something Curt Cignetti noted while sizing up the matchup.
"There's a lot of continuity in terms of guys who've been in that system for multiple years," Lincoln Riley said. "It will be one of the deepest (defensive lines) we've played in terms of the number of guys they have (who) can contribute...They've got the full two-deep and then some."
Indiana’s defense has helped cover for an offense that has been uneven lately. The Hoosiers have not topped 20 points in regulation in any of their last four games, but they also haven’t allowed more than 19 points in that same span. No team has scored more than 23 points on Indiana all season.
Cignetti pointed to execution issues and missed chances when talking about the offense.
"A lot of our problems have been general execution," Cignetti said of his team’s offensive inconsistency. "For the most part, it's been missed opportunities. Last week (a 23-16 overtime win over Minnesota on Oct. 31), it was a combination of six offensive penalties."
That penalty count stood out because it runs against the grain of Indiana’s season-long discipline. The Hoosiers rank as the nation’s sixth-least penalized team, averaging 4.2 penalties for 34.8 yards per game.
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