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EAST LANSING, MI — Indiana football defensive coordinator Bryant Haines starts each week by writing the number of explosive plays the defense and offense had in the previous game on the board.
For the defense, the number includes tackles for loss, sacks, interceptions and other negative plays.
Haines will likely be pleased with the results when the No. 13 Hoosiers (9-0; 6-0 Big Ten) regroup on Monday coming off a 47-10 win over Michigan State. The defensive line set the tone for one of the most impressive defensive performances by the program in recent history.
“It’s usually green for us in our favor, but I feel like we’ve been lacking in that the last couple of games,” Indiana defensive tackle James Carpenter said. “I thought tonight we really stepped up. This is an explosive defense and this is how it was meant to be.”
Michigan State’s Tommy Schuster, right, is sacked by Indiana’s Mikail Kamara during the third quarter on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.
More: Inside Indiana football QB Kurtis Rourke’s return from injury as Hoosiers stay perfect
Indiana’s defensive line wins the battle in the trenches by a ‘wide margin’
Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith didn’t need to watch the film to pinpoint what went wrong for the Spartans.
“We lost that by a wide margin,” Smith said of the battle in the trenches against IU’s defensive front.
Indiana had a season-high seven sacks (most since 2017), 15 tackles for loss (most since 2016) and held MSU to -36 rushing yards (a program record)
According to Pro Football Focus, the Hoosiers combined for 31 quarterback pressures, the third most for the defense since the site started tracking the stat since 2014. They had 33 quarterback pressures against Purdue in 2015 and 32 against Missouri in 2014.
Michigan State’s quarterbacks were…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/indiana-football-defensive-line-delivers-090018807.html
Author : The Herald-Times
Publish date : 2024-11-03 09:00:18
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