Indiana University Athletics
Surging Hoosiers Hope Fun Continues at Michigan State
11/11/2020 8:19:00 AM | Football
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - This is why Demarcus Elliott, who shrinks a room just by entering it, came to Indiana.
"It's a lot of fun," he says. "It's always fun to get a win."
Elliott was a 6-3, 311-pound defensive-line reason, although not the only one, for the Hoosiers stuff-the-run mashing of No. 23/25 Michigan last Saturday. The Wolverines managed just 13 rushing yards in a 38-21 IU victory that propelled it into the Top 10 for the first time since 1969.
Now the No. 10 Hoosiers (3-0) get a chance to do it again, this time at Michigan State (1-2) on Saturday.
"While it is maybe a little bit surprising to people outside of the program," punter Haydon Whitehead says, "this 3-0 start definitely is not surprising to us.
"It's something that we thought we could achieve and worked hard to achieve. Now that it is happening, it is the reward for the hard work paying off."
Adds Elliott: "To be 3-0 is probably one of the best feelings I have had in a while. Being able to do it with the defensive line and the defense is an amazing feeling.
"Every day in practice, all of the coaches and players, we strain for physicality. The way to stop the run is to be physical. That is what we have been doing."
IU ranks sixth in the Big Ten by holding opponents to 128 rushing yards a game. It will face a Michigan State team that ranks last in the conference in rushing, at 78.3 yards.
Still, Elliott says, the challenge is formidable.
"They are really big and physical. They are big, strong guys. Watching film, you can really see that. They put that work in the weight room, and at the end of the day, we just have to match it or be better than them physically.
"Like I said, in practice we have been straining to be more physical than the other team. That is going to be a challenge this week."
Elliott came to IU after a year at Garden City Community College in Kansas for challenges such as this. Head coach Tom Allen and then defensive line coach Mark Hagen were persistent in detailing why he'd be a great fit as a Hoosier.
They didn't lie.
"They both recruited me very hard," Elliott says. "Once it started, it never dropped off. I felt like I could trust them even though I really did not know them. I felt an instant connection. We have been winning a lot recently and the fans are amazing."
There's no disagreement from offensive lineman Caleb Jones, who is even bigger at 6-8 and 362 pounds.
He remembers last year's trip to East Lansing, when the Hoosiers gave up nine points at the end and lost 40-31.
"We have a grudge against them," he says. "We should have won last year, but we did not."
The offensive line goal is clear – keep quarterback Michael Penix Jr. safe and open holes for running backs Stevie Scott III and Sampson James.
"We have to protect Mike and create some running lanes for Stevie," Jones says. "We have to let our offense do their thing."
IU wants to push the run-pass balance to a season-best result against a defense that ranks 12th in the Big Ten in points allowed (37.0), and sixth in total yards allowed (377.7).
The Hoosiers rank third in scoring (37.0) and 12th in total offense (339.3 yards).
"Michigan State has a very, very large defensive front," Jones says. "They are very stout, very strong.
"I think that the big thing will be getting our cleats in the ground and rooting those big bodies up out of there to give Stevie some room to run. I think that we have a really good game plan in place."
When the Hoosiers pass, keep an eye on senior receiver Ty Fryfogle, whose numbers have improved every game, from two catches for 27 yards against No. 8/7 Penn State to four catches for 55 yards and a touchdown against Rutgers to seven catches for 142 yards and a TD against Michigan.
This isn't a surprise for a guy with more than 1,000 career receiving yards.
"I feel like I have just improved my game all around since I got here," he says.
"In high school, you just run routes. You do not really know what you are doing, but you are just making plays.
"When you get here, you have to be coached up and know what you are doing to understand the game on a different level. I think the whole offensive staff has really helped me grow my game, especially (receivers coach) Grant Heard, and also just learning from the older receivers when I got here.
"Everybody helped me with my game and made me a better receiver. But I still have a ways to go."
Defensively, Indiana will attack relentlessly under coordinator Kane Wommack. That includes blitzing cornerbacks who disrupt running backs as well as quarterbacks.
"We are really explosive," cornerback Reese Taylor says. "We trigger when we need to trigger.
"When Coach Wommack gives us the play calls, it is a trigger to us to know that the run play is coming. We know it is coming because of the film study that we get into, how deep we get into it, how much we practice it, and how locked in we are at practice.
"It comes down to how focused we are in practice. When we play fast, it depends on what run is coming or what pass is going."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - This is why Demarcus Elliott, who shrinks a room just by entering it, came to Indiana.
"It's a lot of fun," he says. "It's always fun to get a win."
Elliott was a 6-3, 311-pound defensive-line reason, although not the only one, for the Hoosiers stuff-the-run mashing of No. 23/25 Michigan last Saturday. The Wolverines managed just 13 rushing yards in a 38-21 IU victory that propelled it into the Top 10 for the first time since 1969.
Now the No. 10 Hoosiers (3-0) get a chance to do it again, this time at Michigan State (1-2) on Saturday.
"While it is maybe a little bit surprising to people outside of the program," punter Haydon Whitehead says, "this 3-0 start definitely is not surprising to us.
"It's something that we thought we could achieve and worked hard to achieve. Now that it is happening, it is the reward for the hard work paying off."
Adds Elliott: "To be 3-0 is probably one of the best feelings I have had in a while. Being able to do it with the defensive line and the defense is an amazing feeling.
"Every day in practice, all of the coaches and players, we strain for physicality. The way to stop the run is to be physical. That is what we have been doing."
IU ranks sixth in the Big Ten by holding opponents to 128 rushing yards a game. It will face a Michigan State team that ranks last in the conference in rushing, at 78.3 yards.
Still, Elliott says, the challenge is formidable.
"They are really big and physical. They are big, strong guys. Watching film, you can really see that. They put that work in the weight room, and at the end of the day, we just have to match it or be better than them physically.
"Like I said, in practice we have been straining to be more physical than the other team. That is going to be a challenge this week."
Elliott came to IU after a year at Garden City Community College in Kansas for challenges such as this. Head coach Tom Allen and then defensive line coach Mark Hagen were persistent in detailing why he'd be a great fit as a Hoosier.
They didn't lie.
"They both recruited me very hard," Elliott says. "Once it started, it never dropped off. I felt like I could trust them even though I really did not know them. I felt an instant connection. We have been winning a lot recently and the fans are amazing."
There's no disagreement from offensive lineman Caleb Jones, who is even bigger at 6-8 and 362 pounds.
He remembers last year's trip to East Lansing, when the Hoosiers gave up nine points at the end and lost 40-31.
"We have a grudge against them," he says. "We should have won last year, but we did not."
The offensive line goal is clear – keep quarterback Michael Penix Jr. safe and open holes for running backs Stevie Scott III and Sampson James.
"We have to protect Mike and create some running lanes for Stevie," Jones says. "We have to let our offense do their thing."
IU wants to push the run-pass balance to a season-best result against a defense that ranks 12th in the Big Ten in points allowed (37.0), and sixth in total yards allowed (377.7).
The Hoosiers rank third in scoring (37.0) and 12th in total offense (339.3 yards).
"Michigan State has a very, very large defensive front," Jones says. "They are very stout, very strong.
"I think that the big thing will be getting our cleats in the ground and rooting those big bodies up out of there to give Stevie some room to run. I think that we have a really good game plan in place."
When the Hoosiers pass, keep an eye on senior receiver Ty Fryfogle, whose numbers have improved every game, from two catches for 27 yards against No. 8/7 Penn State to four catches for 55 yards and a touchdown against Rutgers to seven catches for 142 yards and a TD against Michigan.
This isn't a surprise for a guy with more than 1,000 career receiving yards.
"I feel like I have just improved my game all around since I got here," he says.
"In high school, you just run routes. You do not really know what you are doing, but you are just making plays.
"When you get here, you have to be coached up and know what you are doing to understand the game on a different level. I think the whole offensive staff has really helped me grow my game, especially (receivers coach) Grant Heard, and also just learning from the older receivers when I got here.
"Everybody helped me with my game and made me a better receiver. But I still have a ways to go."
Defensively, Indiana will attack relentlessly under coordinator Kane Wommack. That includes blitzing cornerbacks who disrupt running backs as well as quarterbacks.
"We are really explosive," cornerback Reese Taylor says. "We trigger when we need to trigger.
"When Coach Wommack gives us the play calls, it is a trigger to us to know that the run play is coming. We know it is coming because of the film study that we get into, how deep we get into it, how much we practice it, and how locked in we are at practice.
"It comes down to how focused we are in practice. When we play fast, it depends on what run is coming or what pass is going."
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