Indiana football entered its final regular season home game against Wisconsin on Saturday, boasting one of the top defenses in the country. The Hoosiers allowed just 11 touchdowns across their first 10 games, while holding opponents to 257.1 yards per game — the fifth lowest mark in the nation.
But Indiana’s top-ranked defense was tested early against Wisconsin — a team that scores 12.6 points per game, which ranks second fewest in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Wisconsin threatened a score on its opening drive. True freshman quarterback Carter Smith led the Badgers on a 13-play, 48-yard possession, which consumed over seven and a half minutes off the clock. However, the Badgers failed to convert a 44-yard field goal attempt.
With under four minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Badgers scored a 45-yard passing touchdown on a fourth and 1 play.
Despite owning a 10-7 lead at halftime and holding the Badgers without a score on four of their five first half possessions, the Hoosiers remained unsatisfied with their defensive start.
“First of all, I think we started out really slow,” senior linebacker Aiden Fisher said postgame. “We were very messy. A lot of our angles, and things that we were doing, it was just bad defense in that first half.”
Following its sluggish start, the Indiana defense exited the halftime locker room rejuvenated. The Cream and Crimson shutout Wisconsin in the second half, powering Indiana to a 31-7 victory Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington.
Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti delivered a calming message at halftime after his team’s lethargic start.
“What's always worked for me in these situations and worked today again is instead of going in there and kind of rip-snorting at halftime, just telling everybody to take a deep breath, relax, have fun, go out there and play one play at a time,” Cignetti said.
In the first half, the Indiana defense struggled up front. Redshirt senior defensive lineman Mikail Kamara exited the contest in the first quarter with a “shoulder nerve stinger issue,” Cignetti said. Kamara stood along the sideline for the remainer of the game without a helmet.
Without Kamara up front, Wisconsin matched Indiana’s physicality — a trait that has shied opponents away from running against the Hoosiers. Opponents averaged 26.6 rushing attempts per game against the Hoosiers entering Saturday — the lowest mark in the country. Yet, the Badgers tallied 19 rushing attempts through the initial two quarters.
However, Indiana came out as the more aggressive team up front after halftime. Wisconsin rushed for 16 total yards and generated just 23 total yards of offense in the second half.
Senior defensive lineman Stephen Daley and sophomore defensive lineman Daniel Ndukwe helped lead the charge at the line of scrimmage. Daley registered four total tackles, including three tackles for loss and a forced fumble — all of which occurred in the third quarter.
Meanwhile, Ndukwe stepped in for the injured Kamara opposite of Daley, recording four tackles and a tackle for loss. In 2024, Ndukwe appeared in 12 games with the Hoosiers. Prior to making an impact Saturday, the sophomore registered just two total tackles in 2025.
Indiana entered Saturday ranking second in the nation in turnover margin. The Cream and Crimson forced two more turnovers against Wisconsin. After Daley’s forced fumble in the third quarter, sixth-year redshirt senior defensive back Devan Boykin secured his second interception of the season in the game’s final frame.
Both Indiana takeaways set the Hoosiers up in Wisconsin territory. Redshirt junior quarterback Fernando Mendoza and the Indiana offense capitalized off the prime field position, scoring two touchdowns off the turnovers. Indiana’s ability to turn takeaways into points was “huge,” Cignetti said.
Indiana now has a bye week before closing its regular season on the road against Purdue at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 28. Indiana looks to correct its lack of first half energy ahead of the rivalry matchup.
“You can’t have that in a big game,” Fisher said. “So, we gotta eliminate that now, get back to trending upward toward the end of the season. So, looking forward to Purdue and kinda righting that wrong.”
Follow reporters Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and columnist Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa and qmrichar@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
