With just over a minute to play in the game, senior defensive tackle Bobby Richardson broke through the offensive line to sack Indiana State quarterback Mike Perish for an 11-yard loss.
The very next play, he did the same thing.
Richardson, a three-year letter winner, has seen the worst of his IU defense. After switching from a 4-3 to a 3-4 in the offseason, he wanted that new team to prove itself Saturday.
“I’ve been around this team for four years, so I know what we do, what we’re capable of,” Richardson said. “We showed some of it today but we need to start showing all of it.”
The IU defense gave up just 10 points in a 28-10 victory over Indiana State Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
The Sycamores opened the game with a quick 51-yard drive, featuring an IU defense that gave up big gains, had a handful of missed tackles and looked no different than last year’s.
Richardson said they got together after that opening possession and made the necessary adjustments, making sure they executed the next time out.
And they did.
From that point on, the defense gave up just 119 yards of total offense.
“I think everyone was kind of out there just nervous and anxious at the same time,” senior linebacker David Cooper said. “There were a couple missed tackles out there. Once we settled down that’s when everyone started making plays.”
Indiana State had 170 yards of total offense, including just 30 yards on the ground. That’s the fewest yards an IU defense has allowed since Wilson has been the coach.
Of 14 third downs, the IU defense gave up two conversions.
Richardson said that success had a lot to do with the defense playing as a unit.
“Last year sometimes we had 11 different players out there and we’re just one now,” he said. “We’re more physical, we communicate more, we’re just together now.”
All 10 Indiana State points came off IU turnovers. Freshman J-Shun Harris, who shared the return-man responsibilities with senior Shane Wynn throughout the game, muffed his first punt return.
Then in the third quarter, junior quarterback Nate Sudfeld was picked off by Travis Starks. After a 60-yard return, the Indiana State offense took over at the 16-yard line.
Both times, the defense had a short field to work with.
“Our goal was to just go hard, just play to your ability and do every assignment,” Richardson said. “We made a couple mistakes, but we just have to correct those and we’ll be way better next week.”
Cooper led the team with eight tackles, including one for a loss. Safety Antonio Allen, in his first game since tearing his ACL against Michigan last year, had four tackles.
Coach Kevin Wilson spoke highly of Richardson, who he said is “one of our best.” He thinks the defense as a whole still has a lot of room for improvement.
“You can always see numbers and say, ‘Wow, this number looks good, this number looks bad’ from the stats side,” Wilson said.
“I think they’ve got a ways to go to really be a good game day defense.”
Part of the reasoning behind switching to the 3-4 was to create big plays on the defensive side of the ball.
Richardson was pleased with the way the blitz packages were working and only expects for that to continue.
“When we really start blitzing, when we really start letting loose, you’ll see an amazing sight," Richardson said.
