Column: IU's defense is a shaky foundation

Every so often in the rolling hills and lush valleys of central California, a beautiful house collapses, leaving a grief-stricken family without a home.

How could such a thing happen to a structure valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars?

A poor building location is one reason, but a poorly constructed infrastructure is, more often than not, the root cause.

Roughly 2,000 miles eastward, the Indiana football program is experiencing an equally troubling predicament.

The Beginning
Upon accepting the head coach position at Indiana in December 2010, IU Coach Kevin Wilson was tasked with rebuilding a program very much on life support from the ground up.

While a grossly challenging command, it was one with which the coach felt comfortable, having developed his coaching acumen in the Midwest as an assistant at Miami (Ohio) and Northwestern.

Wilson’s success at those two stops earned him a job offer as a co-offensive coordinator at Oklahoma, where he became an ingenious offensive mind.

Prior to the 2006 season, Wilson shed the co- label from his job title, becoming the Sooners’ sole offensive coordinator.

He took on the role of coaching both tight ends and fullbacks. With his command, the Oklahoma offense skyrocketed in terms of production, and the 2008 Sooners claimed the Football Bowl Subdivision record for most points scored in a single season with 716.

That figure alone was enough to catch the undivided attention of IU Athletic Director Fred Glass, who considered Wilson “his guy” after Wilson dropped Glass off at the airport following their interview in Norman, Okla.

Glass wanted a similar offense at Indiana, but is that what the program truly needed?

Current Day
Since the inception of the Big Ten Conference 116 years ago, its members have created the perception that the league is “10 yards and a cloud of dust.” That’s where the attitude of “smash mouth football” formed.

It’s a conference unlike any other, as the Pac-12, Big 12 and ACC each feature finesse offenses that appear on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays on a consistent basis during the college football season.

Wilson brought with him to Indiana the plans to build a high-octane offense within a conference known for its stout defenses and power-running offenses.

It was an innovative idea from an incredibly innovative coach, but it might not be the right move for a program that recently accumulated the most all-time losses among FBS teams.

That harrowing reality has been a product of lackluster defensive efforts throughout the years and has carried into the current season.

In the opening game of the season, the Hoosier defense surrendered 192 rushing yards to Indiana State’s Shakir Bell. Two weeks later, the team allowed 41 points to visiting Ball State in a spirit-crushing loss.

The streak continued Saturday, and the Hoosier offense’s 29 points weren’t enough to top Northwestern offense that tacked 44 points on the scoreboard.

Not many teams are able to secure victories despite giving up such large amounts of points, and those who do are top ten teams, teams including West Virginia and Georgia, which each allowed at least 44 points but won last Saturday.
 
Moving Forward
Wilson is, without a doubt, qualified to be a head coach at the highest level ofcollege football. His résumé speaks for itself, and I don’t blame Glass for making the hire.

What troubles me and what should trouble the Hoosier Nation is the foundation on which Wilson has built the program.

Wilson has made the Hoosier offense his top priority despite the mantra “offense-winning games and defense-winning championships.”

Watching quarterbacks sophomore Cameron Coffman and freshman Nate Sudfeld sling the ball across the field is highly entertaining. Sophomore wide receiver Cody Latimer’s acrobatic catch during Saturday’s loss was fifth on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays. Yet none of that will drag the program back into the proverbial light.

Until playing lights-out defense is on equal footing with an already explosive offense, Kevin Wilson’s building project will be dangerously susceptible to collapsing, leaving Hoosier fans without a home.
 
­— ckillore@indiana.edu