Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Pat Kuntz does not coach by whisper. Indiana’s veteran defensive tackles coach exudes passion and power during practice, his voice echoing throughout Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium on a recent gorgeous November twilight.
“You’re going too fast!” he shouts during defensive line drills. “Set it up!”
And then, when a player does, he instantly praises. “Good! Do it again!”
Kuntz, head coach Curt Cignetti and all the No. 6/5Hoosiers (8-1 overall, 5-1 in the Big Ten) are working toward a strong finish. A much-needed bye week is in their rearview mirror, a high-stakes game with No. 15/14 USC (7-2, 4-2) looms on Saturday at Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium.
Stakes go beyond the Big Ten race, where IU is second to UCLA (6-0) and positioned to make the conference title game for the second straight season. With a No. 9 College Football Playoff ranking, it also is in the running for a third straight playoff appearance and a chance to defend its national championship.
The Hoosiers aren’t worrying about that, says veteran safety Preston Zachman.
“I try not to get into all the what it means moving forward or what happened in the past,” he says. “We’re focused on USC this week.”
IU’s powerhouse defense will play a huge role against a USC offense that averages 32.4 points behind standout quarterback Jayden Maiava, who completes 66.9 percent of his passes for a Big Ten-leading 20 touchdown passes and 2,524 passing yards. He’s also rushed for two TDs and thrown just five interceptions.
Containing him, Zachman says, “will be a great challenge.”
“You can tell he’s got good arm talent and is very experienced.”
One way to negate that is through pressure.
“We’ve got to get after him,” Zachman says. “We’ve got to pressure him, get him out of the pocket and make him uncomfortable. If you let him sit in the pocket, he's smart enough, and he makes good decisions back there, that he can hurt you that way.”
It helps that IU’s defensive line rates among the nation’s best behind Tobi Osunsanmi (15.5 tackles for loss, 10 sacks), Tyrique Tucker (five quarterback hurries, four tackles for loss, one sack), Stephen Daley (7.5 tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks, four quarterback hurries), and Mario Landino (6.0 tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks, four quarterback hurries).
“They keep getting after the quarterback and giving the quarterback problems,” Zachman says about the defensive line. “It’s very helpful for the secondary when we keep getting after the quarterback like that. It’s causing them to make bad throws and helping our interceptions and coverage. We don’t have to cover for very long.”
Still, there will be plenty to cover. USC has seven players who have caught at least 10 passes. Freshman receiver Trent Mosley has four 100-yard receiving games. He’s caught 32 passes for 512 yards and six touchdowns. Kayden Dixon-Wyatt also has 32 catches, good for 443 yards and four TDs.
“They have lots of talent,” Zachman says. “They don't just pick and choose one or two receivers to throw the ball to. They spread it around to a bunch of different guys, and it's going to be a great challenge for us. We’ve got to be able to limit the explosives.”
USC downed Ohio State a couple of weeks ago in part by receivers breaking tackles and generating significant yards after catches. The Hoosiers, Zachman says, are well aware.
“They’ll get some explosives, but we don’t want them to be super explosives. You’ve got to knock them down and move on to the next play.”
Defensive coordinator Bryant Haines’ scheme is designed for that. The Hoosiers rank second in the Big Ten in points allowed (12.4 to Iowa’s 12.2) and are first in sacks (32). Zachman, a transfer from Wisconsin, quickly adapted to Haines’ approach. He ranks third on the team with 51 tackles behind linebackers Isaiah Jones (67) and Rolijah Hardy (58). He’s also broken up two passes while providing invaluable leadership.
But it’s the way the defense has taken charge over the last four games that stands out to him.
“The biggest lesson for me,” he says, “is as long as there is time on the clock, we’re still in it, we’ll keep swinging, keep fighting, and see what happens at the end.
“Everyone has bought into the fact that we’re going to keep fighting and see how it goes. It’s been to our advantage, recently.”
Another advantage comes with the emergence of freshman linebacker Jacob Savage. He started in place of the injured Hardy in the recent overtime victory over Minnesota. Hardy’s injury surfaced shortly before kickoff, but the defense and Savage never faltered.
For the season, Savage has 25 tackles, five tackles for loss, one sack, three pass breakups, and one quarterback hurry.
“He’s made the most progress,” Zachman says. “He’s stepped right into the role that he got put into. Being a true freshman and being put in that spot was very impressive to me that anyone who is a freshman can do that.”