Sloppy season opener has No. 5 Indiana looking for better defensive performance against Howard

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana linebacker Isaiah Jones was disappointed when he walked off the field Saturday.

Sure, he enjoyed helping the Hoosiers extend the FBS’ longest active winning streak to 17 games and improving to 16-0 all-time at home under third-year coach Curt Cignetti with a resounding 52-16 victory over North Texas.

But even before No. 5 Indiana reached the postgame locker room, Jones already knew what he expected to hear from Cignetti: that the defense failed to play up to its national championship pedigree or the standard he helped establish over the previous two years.

“The defense left the field unsatisfied with how we played,” Jones said moments after the game. “We beat ourselves on some plays, and we’ve got to get off the field quicker.”

To the casual observer, it might not appear the Hoosiers (1-0) were far off their mark.

They led wire-to-wire, never allowed the Mean Green to get within single digits after taking a quick 14-0 lead, forced the game’s only turnover and dominated on special teams. From that standpoint, Jones and the two-time Associated Press Coach of the Year liked what they saw.

The problem was Indiana (1-0) also allowed North Texas to produce more total yards (367-365) and more yards rushing (152-134) because they ran 21 more plays and had a 14 1/2-minute advantage in time of possession. Plus, Indiana had only one sack.

And that’s simply not good enough to win championships.

So after a sloppy start, the Hoosiers spent this week on clean-up duty as they prepare this weekend’s game against Football Championship Subdivision foe Howard.

“It was a combination of some missed critical assignments, poor tackling, so we’ve got to get better there,” Cignetti explained Monday after studying game footage. “We’ve got to tackle a little bit better in space. The missed assignments, we weren’t real disruptive up front.”

Of course, offenses and defenses tend to struggle in season openers.

Just ask Cignetti about last year’s title run starting with a 27-14 victory over Old Dominion in which Monarchs quarterback Colton Joseph ran 75 yards for a TD on the first play from scrimmage and eventual Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza went 18 of 31 for 193 yards with no touchdowns.

But the Hoosiers responded by outscoring their next three opponents 192-19.

That’s the kind of response they want with Western Kentucky and Northwestern looming after Howard. First, though, they need to find solutions.

“Nobody on that defense felt like we met the standard, definitely gave up too many plays. It wasn’t the standard,” linebacker Rolijah Hardy said. “Monday we watched film, made the corrections, and we’ve been hammering those corrections in practice.”

Howard (1-1) poses a different kind of challenge for the Hoosiers.

While first-year North Texas coach Neal Brown called 38 runs and 29 passes, the Bison have been a little more balanced through their first two games with 73 passes and 67 runs.

And if injured starting cornerbacks Jamari Sharpe and A.J. Harris don’t play, Howard may try to test their replacements, Jaylen Bell and Ryland Gandy, who played the final three quarters last week. Cignetti listed Sharpe and Harris as day-to-day on Monday.

Sharpe’s late interception sealed Indiana’s title game victory in January. Harris transferred to Indiana this season after starting 26 games over the previous two seasons at Penn State.

But Cignetti didn’t blame the miscues on injuries.

“Jaylen played extensively to the field (side) and I thought did a nice job, and Ryland played on the (boundary side) and got a tackle,” he said. “You go out in the first game, you’re not exactly sure what the opponent’s going to do. They gave us a lot of different looks, to their credit, but we overcame it.”

Now they just have to show again they can fix their problem areas.

“You want to see better tackling,” Jones said. “We’re an explosive defense — TFLs (tackles for loss), sacks. If they get the ball perimeter, it’s a TFL, it’s a gain of one. Violent tackles, that’s what we preach. Hustling to the ball. And we have to correct that.”

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