Defensive adjustments steer Hoosiers to win

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Western Kentucky running back Bobby Rainey gashed the IU defense enough in the first quarter to set the stage for his first 200-yard rushing game in a dazzling display of power and cuts through wide open Hoosier holes.

It was a drive that gave Rainey the ball via handoff six times in an 11-play series that culminated with the Griffin, Ga., native scoring on an 11-yard run. Rainey piled up 62 yards during the drive that knocked almost five minutes off the clock — and appeared to expose some glaring in-game weaknesses in an IU defense that looked nearly irreparable.

Getting to 200 yards in a game, of course, is Rainey’s next statistical plateau after averaging 169.5 yards on the ground in the Hilltoppers’ first two games.

Such numbers didn’t come against cupcake opponents either. Rainey thwarted tackles from the defenses of Nebraska in the season opener and in-state foe Kentucky a week ago, pummeling the Wildcats for a career-high 184 yards.

The Hoosiers, though, would have none of that, simplifying their game plan to better attack Rainey.

Judging by the final score and Rainey’s final statistics, the adjustments worked.
IU beat Western Kentucky for its second win of the season, 38-21.

IU’s initial adjustment on defense was just getting back into the rhythm of playing live. After winning their season opener against Towson on Sept. 2, the Hoosiers faced a bye week and a 16-day layoff between contests.

“The first thing that happened was that we settled in a little bit to game speed,” IU co-defensive coordinator Brian George said. “We got back to the sideline and kind of refocused ourselves, and then we started to play like we expected to play.”

IU coach Bill Lynch said Western Kentucky used some different formations offensively on the first drive than what the Hoosiers had previously seen.

“On that first drive, they did some good things in changing some formations and some shift and motions and changing personnel,” Lynch said. “They had us a little bit. We were reeling. They mixed it pretty good.”

After leaving the field trailing 7-0, the IU defense returned after an offensive drive stalled and freshman kicker Mitch Ewald missed a field goal attempt from the 38-yard line.

Giving up another Western Kentucky score would have tilted the confidence and momentum of the game more towards the underdog home team’s sideline, and the Hoosiers responded by altering their approach.

“We really just simplified it to the point where they did some things on the first drive that we hadn’t seen them do, but we had seen Stanford do and we had practiced a little bit,” George said.

First-year Western Kentucky coach Willie Taggart had spent the previous three seasons as the running backs coach at Stanford, and part of IU’s game preparations included watching Stanford offensive tape and dissecting the formations. Rainey was always the priority for IU’s defense, but how he would run the ball was the key.

“We kind of had in the back (of the players’) minds that (Western Kentucky) might come in and break out those things,” George said. “After going through that first drive, we made it a little simpler to adjust to things that they were doing.”

The simplification allowed the Hoosiers to line up against the Hilltoppers better and improved pre-snap communication, George said.

“I think that settled everybody in and made us a little more comfortable when they would do ‘this,’ we’ve got it covered,” George said.

The defensive maneuvering worked. Over their next five possessions, the Hilltoppers averaged just more than 10 yards per drive and punted five consecutive times, looking much more like a team that has now lost 23 consecutive games. Meanwhile, the Hoosier offense piled on 31 straight points.

The string of forced punts for Western Kentucky included a stifling three-and-out that manufactured just three yards to lead off the third quarter.

“In the second half, I thought our defense really came out and took control of the third quarter,” Lynch said. “Once they could take control of it, then Ben (Chappell), our running backs and our receivers played well.”

The quick end to Western Kentucky’s first possession was a direct result to changes made by the IU coaching staff at halftime, Lynch said.

After the Hilltoppers’ first drive, Rainey manufactured just 43 more yards the rest of the game to total 105 yards, his lowest total of the season.