These were games in which the Hoosiers kept the No. 1 Buckeyes to six points at halftime or shut out the Nittany Lions in the entire third quarter to keep IU within reach.
These games resulted in losses, but something can be found in the fact that the defense needed to encourage the offense. The IU defense has been toward the bottom of the Big Ten rankings during the Kevin Wilson era and still is statistically, but the defense has been keeping IU alive with turnovers and stout performances in recent weeks.
Players are beginning to look at this as growth.
“Being here for four years, it’s obviously nice to see the defense playing to our abilities,” senior defensive end Nick Mangieri said.
Mangieri, for example, is sixth in the country with seven sacks this season through six games.
He and senior Zack Shaw had two sacks each in the loss to Penn State and are the leading pass rushers of a defense that is sixth nationally in turnover margin.
Mangieri admits when he came into the program, people looked down on the defense and it put a chip on some players’ shoulders, especially the players he came in with.
“We felt like we could change that perception, and we are doing that right now,” Mangieri said.
But it isn’t all positive for the defense. Second-year defensive coordinator Brian Knorr said he was happy with how physical the defense was up front the first few games, but he hasn’t seen that in recent weeks.
There aren’t going to be a lot of shootouts in the Big Ten, so he said he wants the defense to limit the amount of big plays allowed and be better up front.
“As we continue to develop defensively, and our young kids are coming around, we have to be more physical up front,” he said.
There have been off and on suspensions to defensive players like junior defensive lineman Darius Latham and sophomore linebacker Tegray Scales.
Scales, returning from his two-game suspension earlier in the season, allowed Oliver, who was returning from a season-ending knee injury last year, to secure the will middle linebacker spot.
Now IU has a three-man rotation of inside linebackers that have playing experience and the coaches’ trust. Oliver can even play both the will and mike linebacker spots.
So when Scales comes in to give junior linebacker T.J. Simmons a break, Oliver can slide over to Simmons’ spot, or Scales can come in to replace Oliver.
This all allows the three players to stay fresh.
“That doesn’t just help us that game,” Oliver said. “That helps us down the line so all three of us can be fresh in November.”
Oliver said when he and Simmons are together, it provides a strong downhill running defense and gives good communication throughout the defense.
Scales, on the other hand, gives the defense a dynamic player who is skilled in blitzing and pass coverage due to his athleticism.
His issue is still trying to learn the cerebral aspects of the game, Oliver said. But his skills can make up for that at times.
“It’s easy for him to make plays with not as much understanding,” Oliver said.
But on the field, X’s and O’s aside, players say they feel a closer bond than in past years. Maybe that is what is allowing progress.
“When you are playing with guys that you really enjoy being around or you feel like you’re brothers with, you are going to play a little harder,” Mangieri said.
