Indiana moved to 6-0 with a 20-17 win over Nebraska Saturday afternoon in Lincoln.
The full defensive snap counts from the game are below.
But first, here are some position-by-position notes on the defense coming out of the contest.
For a look at the offense vs. Nebraska, GO HERE.
Defensive Line
Indiana had 17 total pressures on the quarterback.
Mario Landino had the top overall defensive grade on the team according to PFF. They especially liked his run defense. He had two stops (i.e. tackles that constitute a “failure” for the offense). He also had the team’s best pass rush grade with a pressure and a batted pass.
Stephen Daley was a menace once again, with five pressures including two sacks. Kellan Wyatt and Tobi Osunsanmi each had three pressures.
In back-to-back weeks Daley has 2.0 sacks and it was third-straight week with at least one sack.
Osunsanmi has gone five-straight weeks with a sack and six-straight weeks with at least 1.0 tackle for loss.
Linebackers
Starting linebackers Isaiah Jones and Rolijah Hardy both played all 87 defensive snaps — a fairly remarkable number given the heat and the amount of contact they see play-in and play-out.
Hardy had the top run defense grade. He had eight total tackles, including a late fourth quarter play where he knifed through three blockers to shut down a reverse that looked like it had a chance to go for big yards.
Jones co-led the team with nine tackles. He was credited with six “stops” by PFF. He also broke up two passes and PFF gave him the team’s top pass coverage grade.
Freshman Jacob Savage appears to have replaced veterans Jeff Utzinger and Kaiden Turner as the third linebacker, as neither saw the field on defense. Savage had both a tackle for loss and a pass breakup. PFF says Savage missed two tackles.
Safeties
Preston Zachman had the best tackling grade on the team, and the best coverage grade among defensive backs. He totaled six tackles with no misses. He also had an interception that was waved off due to a roughing the passer call. He was targeted twice and allowed no catches. His hit on a receiver late in the game jarred the ball loose and saved a big completion. Zachman has had six-plus tackles for four straight weeks.
Amare Ferrell co-led the team with nine tackles. PFF says both Ferrell and Byron Baldwin missed two tackles. Baldwin had a sack, his second in three weeks.
Cornerbacks
Indiana made a late-game adjustment at corner, inserting A.J. Harris back into the mix. He got a lot of the second half snaps over second-year Jaylen Bell. This was Harris’ first game available since starting week one. He got a pass interference penalty, but also had good coverage on an incompletion.
Playing the boundary corner, Jamari Sharpe was targeted heavily — 11 times with six resulting in receptions. He had his third career interception and a career-high eight tackles.
DEFENSIVE SNAP COUNTS (87 snaps)
- Isaiah Jones, LB (87)
- Rolijah Hardy, LB (87)
- Preston Zachman, S (87)
- Jamari Sharpe, CB (86)
- Amare Ferrell, S (84)
- Mario Landino, DT (60)
- Stephen Daley, DE (59)
- Jaylen Bell, CB (58)
- Byron Baldwin, Rover (54)
- Tobi Osunsanmi, Edge (54)
- Tyrique Tucker, DT (48)
- Kellan Wyatt, Edge (46)
- Joe Hjelle, DT (28)
- Blake Smythe, DT (25)
- A.J. Harris, CB (25)
- Josh Burnham, Edge (25)
- Jacob Savage, LB (19)
- Quan Sanks, S (16)
- Chiddi Obiazor, DL (4)
- Keishaun Calhoun (2)
- Daniel Ndukwe, DE (2)
- Charlie Becker (1)
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