Indiana Football: 3 Takeaways from home opener vs Ball State
Hoosiers Defense Not Star-Filled But Very Solid
Indiana won’t be going out and stealing a lot of 5-star prospects anytime soon, particularly on defense with guys like Jim Harbaugh and Mark Dantonio running around the Big Ten. But defensive coaches Tom Allen and Mark Hagan are taking the talent they have and putting together a very gritty unit.
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Ball State is a far cry from Ohio State, but this is still an offense which had been averaging 23 points per game in 2015, and put up 30 in their first game this season. Despite giving up some yardage, the defense was opportunistic in creating turnovers or keeping the Cardinals out of the end zone, forcing field goal attempts.
There were a few lapses in the secondary, and the Hoosiers showed a little susceptibility to screens and swing passes, but those are easily correctable issues. The defense was fortunately not put into any short field situations by the offense, who did not turn the ball over at all.
Last week, Ball State ran the ball to a tune of 325 yards against Georgia State. Indiana was able to hold them to 140 yards and no rushing touchdowns. That’s a lot of progress from last season.
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