IU Coach Kevin Wilson described the front seven as a Big Ten corps in relation to its size and strength, and he said he expected rushing defense to be a strength of the defense, while defending the pass was the main weakness.
But what was the first play from scrimmage for FCS opponent Southern Illinois University?
A power run straight down the throat of the Big Ten front seven for 29 yards that almost broke open for a touchdown before freshman safety Jonathan Crawford made a shoestring tackle in the open field.
By halftime, the Salukis had recorded 221 yards rushing, a number that would grow to 248 by the end of the game.
“Defensively, we were very, very poor,” Wilson said. “Not acceptable.”
As IU prepares for another home game against FIU on Saturday, communication will be a top priority defensively, IU defensive coordinator Brian Knorr said. He said IU would look to keep the point differential wider than their 48-47 victory against Southern Illinois.
“Obviously we need to be better,” Knorr said. “Everybody’s embarrassed about the performance. We’re excited we won, but by no stretch of the imagination is that how we wanted to start our season defensively.”
The Hoosiers walked onto the field Saturday without four starters on the defensive side of the ball, as junior defensive tackles Ralph Green and Darius Latham and sophomore linebacker Tegray Scales did not play due to disciplinary issues with the team.
Sophomore free safety Chase Dutra was sidelined with a minor injury, which left him in a knee brace.
“We had a lot of young guys playing this first game,” senior bandit Zack Shaw said. “A lot of communication issues led to them having big plays.”
When asked about a reason for surrendering so many yards and points to an FCS opponent, Shaw and Knorr both pointed toward miscommunications between inexperienced players.
“The coaches can’t be out there with them like they can in practice,” Knorr said about young defensive players. “Everything is signaled, and they have to communicate everything on their own. For the younger guys, it can be different, so we’re trying to transition that in practice.”
Knorr said surrendering 659 yards to SIU was a result of a mixture of miscommunication and inexperience, and he said he is combating it by presenting game-like situations to the players during practice and forcing younger defenders to call checks and plays.
Shaw and Knorr both said IU prepared for one offensive scheme that SIU had run in the past, but SIU came out with an unfamiliar scheme in the first half that the defense was able to shut down in the second half.
SIU quarterback Mark Iannoti, who had never run more than 55 yards in a game, ran all over the field for 116 yards and a touchdown, but he was limited to three rushing yards in the second half.
The Hoosiers allowed 15 points in the second half, including 27 rush yards and 238 pass yards, to allow the offense to make up the 11-point halftime deficit.
“At halftime, the young guys sat right there in front of the board, ready to make adjustments,” Shaw said. “They were really focused coming out in the second half.”
FIU presents more of a pro-style offense, Knorr said, as its head coach Ron Hunter has experience in the NFL.
“They present pro shifts and structures,” Knorr said. “It’ll be a little bit of a change of pace in how we’ve prepared against our own players in the offseason and against Southern Illinois, so you can’t worry about what happened last Saturday.”
FIU is coming off of a 15-14 upset victory against a favored UCF team in a game in which the Panthers produced just 391 yards of total offense but made a statement with their defense by allowing just 46 rushing yards on 30 UCF carries.
Their NFL-caliber tight end, Jonnu Smith, caught just 3 balls for 18 yards, while IU allowed SIU tight end Adam Fuehne caught three passes for 130 yards, including a 68-yard touchdown reception in the center of the IU defense.
“Our guys have a lot of pride,” Knorr said. “I know everybody’s reaching down deep, even us coaches. We’re really watching what we do. We’re looking for a much better performance this Saturday.”
