Indiana moved to 4-0 with a 29-23 win over Northwestern Friday evening in Bloomington.
The full defensive snap counts from the game are below.
But first, here are some notes on the defense coming out of the contest.
For a look at the offense vs. Northwestern, GO HERE.
Defensive Line
Stephen Daley appears to be rounding back into the elite form where he was in late in 2025. He lived in the backfield against Northwestern. Daley had four quarterback pressures, seven tackles, two forced fumbles, a sack, and a tackle for loss. And he did all that in just 32 snaps. Daley had the best overall PFF defensive grade on the team by a wide margin. He’s the eighth-highest rated defender at PFF in all of FBS among players with at least 60 snaps this season.
Tyrique Tucker, Tobi Osunsanmi and Mario Landino all each also had three pressures, and IU had 19 as a team. The problem wasn’t getting to Northwestern quarterback Aidan Chiles, it was getting him to the ground.
Osunsanmi had two tackles for loss and a sack. But PFF actually graded him poorly due to pass coverage and tackling.
Linebackers
Did you see Indiana start the game with a four linebacker look? They went back to it multiple times throughout the contest. That meant true freshman Jacob Savage started the game. He only played two snaps total, but he’s clearly someone with a bright future.
Isaiah Jones had the best run defense grade according to PFF. But tackling was a different story, as the outlet says he missed three times, a team high. As a team IU had nine missed tackles, with many of them attempting to get Chiles on the ground.
Rolijah Hardy had the best tackling grade at PFF. He had eight tackles including six solo with no misses. Hardy left the game late with an injury. It appears Jeff Utzinger is his backup when IU goes with two linebackers.
Safeties
It’s not always good news when a safety records a lot of stops, and Preston Zachman led the team with nine tackles. That’s not his fault, but his coverage was suspect at times. He was targeted six time and gave up six receptions for 77 yards and a score.
Cornerbacks
There was a major shakeup at cornerback, as Jaylen Bell got the start over Ryland Gandy. And among defensive backs, Bell had the best PFF coverage grade on the team. He was targeted twice and gave up zero receptions. Wouldn’t it be quite the twist if the injury to A.J. Harris ended up resulting in Bell starting the rest of the way? Although he has a long way to go, the young undersized and physical corner brings D’Angelo Ponds to mind.
DEFENSIVE SNAP COUNTS (60 snaps)
- Amare Ferrell, S (60)
- Isaiah Jones, LB (60)
- Jamari Sharpe, CB (60)
- Jaylen Bell, CB (59)
- Preston Zachman, S (58)
- Rolijah Hardy, LB (48)
- Mario Landino, DT (47)
- Tyrique Tucker, DT (44)
- Stephen Daley, DE (32)
- Tobi Osunsanmi, Edge (30)
- Byron Baldwin, Rover (27)
- Kellan Wyatt, Edge (25)
- Kaiden Turner, LB (19)
- Joe Hjelle, DT (14)
- Jeff Utzinger, LB (14)
- Josh Burnham, Edge (14)
- Chiddi Obiazor, DL (13)
- Blake Smythe, DT (12)
- Daniel Ndukwe, Edge (9)
- Quan Sanks, S (9)
- Cam McHaney, DT (4)
- Jacob Savage, LB (2)
For complete coverage of IU football, GO HERE.
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