Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Minnesota Golden Gophers, fresh off a rivalry win over top-20 Iowa, are coming to Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium on Saturday and Indiana defensive end Tobi Osunsanmi will be there to greet them.
Osunsanmi, a 6-foot-2, 251-pound transfer from Kansas State, is an offense wrecker of the highest order. He had two sacks in Saturday’s 13-6 overtime win at Michigan. He has had at least one sack in seven straight weeks, breaking the Hoosier record of six straight held by Jammie Kirlew, Adewale Ogunleye and Lamar Mills.
Osunsanmi has 9.0 sacks on the season. He had 8.5 sacks in four seasons at Kansas State.
“He's playing tremendous, great football,” head coach Curt Cignetti said during his Monday press conference. “He's also a really good leader. He's got a voice.
“I credit the defensive staff of (defensive coordinator) Bryant Haines, (defensive ends coach) Buddha Williams, and (defensive tackles coach) Pat Kuntz for finding his niche and developing him from a technique standpoint where he can make explosive plays.
“He's a really twitched-up guy. You could see that on the Kansas State tape. Our defense is all about wreaking havoc and creating tackles for loss and sacks and making everything happen on (the opponents’) side of the line of scrimmage. He’s really good at that.”
The No. 4/4 Hoosiers (7-1 overall, 4-1 in the Big Ten) are coming off their first win at Michigan Stadium since 1967. It followed their 19-15 loss to Ohio State that ended their 22-game winning streak.
IU held Michigan to just six points and 224 total yards. It recovered a fumble and grabbed an interception.
“That was a tough, gritty, hard-fought game,” Cignetti said. “It was a tremendous job by our defense. They came up time and time again with key plays at the right time. I can't say enough about them.
“It was a great bounce back win to get back on track.”
Minnesota (5-2, 3-1) averages 26.6 points and 322.4 total yards while allowing 20.1 and 288.7. The Gophers have a solid resume with wins over then No. 15 Iowa, then No. 24 Michigan and then No. 23 Washington, but lost at Purdue, 41-13, and at home to Mississippi State 38-13.
“They’re a lot like us in that they're not going to beat themselves,” Cignetti said. “They're going to make you earn it. They're fundamental.
“(Coach P.J. Fleck) does a tremendous job. They're a good football team, so we’re going to have to play well. We have areas we got to get better at.”
Quarterback Drake Lindsey completes 63.5 percent of his passes for 1,472 yards, nine touchdowns, and six interceptions.
Three Gophers have rushed for more than 100 yards -- TJ Thomas (325 yards one touchdown), Darius Taylor (174 yards, five TDs), and Xavier Ford (115, one).
The top receivers are Javon Tracy (39 catches, 420 yards, one touchdown) and Noah Jennings (30 catches, 367 yards, one TD).
Defensively, the Gophers have 15 sacks. Defensive lineman TJ Bush leads with 4.0 sacks. Defensive lineman Karter Menz has 3.0. Linebacker Maverick Baranowski has a team-high 52 tackles, plus an interception.
“They've got a really good package, experienced players,” Cignetti said. “They're in the right place. They do a great job of coaching. They're very aggressive. They get to the ball. They can play man. They can play zone. They can load the box on you if they have to. They've got five-man pressures and six-man pressures. That's where they try to keep you off balance, is the mix of those things.”
Cignetti said Minnesota came out schematically different on defense against Iowa than it did in previous weeks.
“They're really good. You’ve got to earn every yard and you’ve got to earn every score.”
Fleck has won 71 games in 10 years at Minnesota. He is 7-0 in bowl games with the Gophers. He previously coached at Western Michigan.
Quarterback Josh Hoover was banged up against Ohio State and it affected his performance at Michigan, where he went 8-for-18 for 81 yards with his first interception of the season.
“I expect him to be fine and better this week,” Cignetti said.
In the last three games, Hoover is 40-for-80 for 640 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception.
For the season, Hoover completes 62.0 percent of his passes for 1,741 yards, 18 touchdowns, and one interception. He’s also rushed for two touchdowns, including the overtime game winner at Michigan.
Cignetti added that one of the problems in the passing game against Michigan was the fact the receivers “didn’t separate” from the defensive coverage.
“We obviously didn't throw the ball very well or very often,” he said, “and a lot of that was because of type of game it became.
“And quite frankly, in practice last week the pass game wasn't very good. I expect it to be better this week.”
Safety Amare Ferrell has intercepted three passes in the last two games, giving him 11 for his career. That ties Lance Brown (1991-94), Dave Abrams (1977-78) and John Cannady (1943-46) for the third most career interceptions in IU history. Only Tim Wilbur (19 from 1978-82) and Tracy Porter (16 from 2004-07) have more.
“Amare has got really good ball skills,” Cignetti said. “He's the next punt returner back there right now because he catches the ball really well.
“(The interception against Michigan) was in zone coverage, high deflection, and he did a really good job running the ball down and making the play. He made a great catch against Ohio State on his second interception.
“It’s great to see him come on like that. He's a really smart player, too. Very instinctive. Those turnovers equal points.”
Cignetti paused to consider the 13-6 overtime Michigan score and the fact the Hoosiers only managed a field goal from Ferrell’s interception.
“Not enough points last week,” he said with a smile, “but they equal points.”
True freshman linebacker Jacob Savage continues to play beyond his years. He had a career-high seven tackles against Michigan after totaling five the previous week against Ohio State.
For the season, he has 21 tackles, four for loss, with one sack. He’s also broken up a pass. He started against Northwestern.
“Jacob is another guy that loves football,” Cignetti said. “He’s very instinctive. He plays well. We have confidence in him, which says a lot about him being a true freshman. It tells you a lot about his commitment and his dedication and his approach to the game.”
The 6-foot, 225-pound Savage was a three-star high school prospect out of Kentucky, and he was named the state’s top player as a senior at Ryle High School. He was versatile enough to set a school record with 511 career tackles while also rushing for 2,835 yards, generating 749 receiving yards and scoring 65 total touchdowns.
“He loves football,” Cignetti said. “He loves the process. He's a football guy through and through.
“He had a lot of tackles in high school. You knew he was going to do everything he could to be the best he could be. Over time, he's worked his way on to the field in a significant role.”