Indiana University Athletics
Allen Happy with Progress, Wants Unit to Take Next Step
11/15/2016 9:33:00 PM | Football
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Tom Allen sees the answer to solving one of the best offenses in the country at No. 3 Michigan on Saturday.
The solution lies in last Saturday's matchup last weekend against 10th-ranked Penn State. Although Indiana fell short, the Hoosiers defense did better than anyone this season to contain PSU's dynamic running back, Saquon Barkley.
Barkley came into the game at Indiana averaging 6.3 yards per carry, and had already eclipsed 1,000 yards in the first nine games. The Hoosiers stifled Barkley, holding him to 1.8 yards per carry on 33 touches. That average is the lowest of Barkley's career, saving his one yard on just one carry in the first game of his freshman year.
"I talked to the guys Sunday and tried to speak from the heart and tell them how proud I was of them, how hard they played and fit the run," Allen said at Monday's press conference. "There weren't a lot of places for them to go, and I thought we played well against a very special running back who's difficult to get on the ground. We really never let him get going. The guys bought into what we were doing and they played into it really well."
He followed that praise by taking ownership of last Saturday's result. For all the success they had in the first three quarters, Allen said, Indiana wasn't able to stop Penn State down the stretch. He attributes that to depth concerns, saying that getting more guys snaps earlier in the game will lead to a stronger fourth quarter effort.
"It's about continuing to build depth and get more guys playing, so we don't have guys taking 60 to 70 snaps per game," Allen continued. "You go back to the Nebraska game and you can see the breakdowns on the last drive. In this game, there were situations where they made the play and we were right there, but we just didn't knock the ball out. It's a matter of getting to the next step as a defense, and right now that comes down to depth."
The progress Indiana's defense has made in 10 games this season is tangible. The Hoosiers are 13th in the FBS at stopping their opponent on third down plays, which plays into Allen's philosophy of getting the ball back to the offense as soon as possible. That's not all, however, as last weekend Indiana tied a school record with 16 tackles for loss against the Nittany Lions.
"It comes down to the penetration of our defensive line," Allen said on swarming Barkley and the Penn State offense. "When you're playing a back of that caliber, you cannot allow him to get downhill. If he gets past our line of scrimmage and into our secondary, he's extremely difficult to tackle. He was forced to move laterally way sooner than he wanted to, which was huge. You can scheme it all you want, but the players have to make the plays."
That ability to tamper one side of the offense will be critical to their success this weekend in The Big House. Michigan boasts one of the most well-balanced offenses in college football, and they have a knack for using their size and power run game to lull their opponents into giving up big plays downfield.
Allen hopes the pieces he saw in Indiana's effort against Penn State's ground game will come to fruition against Michigan. It's a different conflict, no doubt, as U-M boasts a stable of running backs along with their do-it-all playmaker, Jabrill Peppers.
"They're big up front and they run the ball extremely well, and adding Peppers into the mix creates a new dimension that a lot of teams don't have," Allen said." We've faced a lot of different athletic quarterbacks throughout the season, but anytime you have a dynamic guy like that, a nationally recognized player, you have to know where he is at all times. They have big receivers, and probably the best tight end we've played all year. They're a good football team, and we'll have to go up there and play our best."
How do you stop that? Make them throw, according to Allen, and keep their power I-formation run game from setting up a short distance for second- and third-down scenarios.
But that will take an extra effort from Indiana's secondary.
"Because they run the ball as well as they do, they like to isolate you on the outside with that. We have to win those one-on-one battles, and pick our scheme to give those guys help at certain times," Allen continued. "Other times, they're going to just have to make plays. When you force the run to make them throw, you put pressure on other guys and it pushes those guys to win competitive plays."
The solution lies in last Saturday's matchup last weekend against 10th-ranked Penn State. Although Indiana fell short, the Hoosiers defense did better than anyone this season to contain PSU's dynamic running back, Saquon Barkley.
Barkley came into the game at Indiana averaging 6.3 yards per carry, and had already eclipsed 1,000 yards in the first nine games. The Hoosiers stifled Barkley, holding him to 1.8 yards per carry on 33 touches. That average is the lowest of Barkley's career, saving his one yard on just one carry in the first game of his freshman year.
"I talked to the guys Sunday and tried to speak from the heart and tell them how proud I was of them, how hard they played and fit the run," Allen said at Monday's press conference. "There weren't a lot of places for them to go, and I thought we played well against a very special running back who's difficult to get on the ground. We really never let him get going. The guys bought into what we were doing and they played into it really well."
He followed that praise by taking ownership of last Saturday's result. For all the success they had in the first three quarters, Allen said, Indiana wasn't able to stop Penn State down the stretch. He attributes that to depth concerns, saying that getting more guys snaps earlier in the game will lead to a stronger fourth quarter effort.
"It's about continuing to build depth and get more guys playing, so we don't have guys taking 60 to 70 snaps per game," Allen continued. "You go back to the Nebraska game and you can see the breakdowns on the last drive. In this game, there were situations where they made the play and we were right there, but we just didn't knock the ball out. It's a matter of getting to the next step as a defense, and right now that comes down to depth."
The progress Indiana's defense has made in 10 games this season is tangible. The Hoosiers are 13th in the FBS at stopping their opponent on third down plays, which plays into Allen's philosophy of getting the ball back to the offense as soon as possible. That's not all, however, as last weekend Indiana tied a school record with 16 tackles for loss against the Nittany Lions.
"It comes down to the penetration of our defensive line," Allen said on swarming Barkley and the Penn State offense. "When you're playing a back of that caliber, you cannot allow him to get downhill. If he gets past our line of scrimmage and into our secondary, he's extremely difficult to tackle. He was forced to move laterally way sooner than he wanted to, which was huge. You can scheme it all you want, but the players have to make the plays."
That ability to tamper one side of the offense will be critical to their success this weekend in The Big House. Michigan boasts one of the most well-balanced offenses in college football, and they have a knack for using their size and power run game to lull their opponents into giving up big plays downfield.
Allen hopes the pieces he saw in Indiana's effort against Penn State's ground game will come to fruition against Michigan. It's a different conflict, no doubt, as U-M boasts a stable of running backs along with their do-it-all playmaker, Jabrill Peppers.
"They're big up front and they run the ball extremely well, and adding Peppers into the mix creates a new dimension that a lot of teams don't have," Allen said." We've faced a lot of different athletic quarterbacks throughout the season, but anytime you have a dynamic guy like that, a nationally recognized player, you have to know where he is at all times. They have big receivers, and probably the best tight end we've played all year. They're a good football team, and we'll have to go up there and play our best."
How do you stop that? Make them throw, according to Allen, and keep their power I-formation run game from setting up a short distance for second- and third-down scenarios.
But that will take an extra effort from Indiana's secondary.
"Because they run the ball as well as they do, they like to isolate you on the outside with that. We have to win those one-on-one battles, and pick our scheme to give those guys help at certain times," Allen continued. "Other times, they're going to just have to make plays. When you force the run to make them throw, you put pressure on other guys and it pushes those guys to win competitive plays."
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