Tom Allen's work overhauling Indiana's defense hasn't gone unnoticed.

Allen was nominated for the Broyles Award, it was announced Wednesday. The honor annually goes to the top assistant coach in college football.

An 18 member selection committee will select five finalists from the group of 40 nominees for the award.

Allen is the second IU coach in as many years to pick up a nomination for the award. IU offensive line coach Greg Frey was a candidate for his work last season.

But Allen's presence seems fitting considering the overhaul he's performed on the Hoosiers' defense mostly by instilling confidence and asking that his players love and play for each other.

Virtually every major defensive statistical category has improved with Allen leading the way. Nowhere is that more evident than in yards allowed, where Indiana is allowing 127.3 yards fewer than a year ago with 382.0 per game.

IU has given up 30 fewer touchdowns than it did a year ago, lowered third-down conversions by 11.9 percent and is stressing takeaways more now than ever before. IU is tied for fifth in fumbles recovered (six) and sixth in interceptions (10) among Big Ten teams.

While Allen is deservingly receiving praise, he's passed off credit to his players.

"They're a close group that enjoys being with each other and spending time together off the field," Allen said Monday. "Learning to make it 'not about me' is the key concept to me, and that's what they've bought into. They understand it's about L.E.O. (which stands for "love each other") and being a part of something bigger than themselves."

Allen and his defense have one more guaranteed test in front of them in Purdue this weekend. The Old Oaken Bucket game will be a chance for his unit to prove once more just how much stronger it has gotten against a Boilermaker program that passes the ball as well as any team in the Big Ten.

"They'll stress us on defense and get a lot of snaps," Allen said of Purdue. "When you face a receiver of that caliber and that skill set, and the quarterback has such a quick release with a strong arm and deep ball accuracy, it'll be a tough challenge for our secondary. We'll have to be at our best."

Below is a complete list of the coaches who made the cut thus far:

Alabama – Jeremy Pruitt, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers

Arkansas State – Joe Cauthen, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers

Army West Point – Jay Bateman, Defensive Coordinator

Auburn – Kevin Steele, Defensive Coordinator

Boise State – Scott Huff, Co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive

Washington State – Alex Grinch, Defensive Coordinator/Secondary

Brigham Young – Ed Lamb, Special Team Coordinator/Safeties

Clemson – Brent Venables, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers

Colorado – Jim Leavitt, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers

Colorado State – Will Friend, Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line

Georgia Southern – Chad Lunsford, Special Teams Coordinator/Tight Ends

Houston – Todd Orlando – Defensive Coordinator

Indiana – Tom Allen, Defensive Coordinator

Iowa State – Tom Manning, Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line

Louisiana Tech – Todd Fitch, Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers

LSU – Dave Aranda, Defensive Coordinator

Miami – Manny Diaz, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers

Michigan – Don Brown, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers

Missouri – Glen Elarbee, Offensive Line

Navy – Ivin Jasper, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks

Nebraska – Trent Bray, Linebackers

North Carolina – Larry Porter, Special Teams Coordinator/Running Backs

North Carolina State – Ryan Nielsen, Defensive Line

Oklahoma State – Mike Yurcich, Coordinator/Quarterbacks

Old Dominion – Brian Scott, Offensive Coordinator

Ole Miss – Matt Luke, Co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line

Ohio State – Kerry Coombs, Special Teams Coordinator/Cornerbacks

Penn State – Joe Moorhead, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks

Pittsburgh – Matt Canada, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks

South Carolina – Travaris Robinson, Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs

Stanford – Mike Bloomgren, Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line

Temple – Phil Snow, Defensive Coordinator/Safeties

Troy – Matt Moore, Co-Offensive Coordinator

UCF – Erik Chinander, Defensive Coordinator

USC – Clancy Pendergast, Defensive Coordinator

Wake Forest – Mike Elko, Defensive Coordinator/Safeties

Western Kentucky – Tony Levine, Co-Offensive Coordinator/Special Teams Coordinator

Western Michigan – Kirk Ciarrocca, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks

West Virginia – Tony Gibson, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers

Wisconsin – Justin Wilcox, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers