Indiana's defense has been sensational all season but, in the Old Oaken Bucket Game, a rivalry game that also could earn a College Football Playoff berth for IU, the defense turned it up to another level.
These were historic numbers from this Indiana defense as, in a shutout performance against Purdue, it allowed just 67 total yards, 13 rushing yards and 54 passing yards.
These yardage numbers went along with five turnovers forced, as IU forced three fumbles and intercepted a Purdue pass two times.
This was the second time this season that Indiana has forced 5 turnovers, but it was the first time this year that IU has shut a team out, doing so with the largest margin of victory against a FBS opponent in program history, and credit has to be given to the defense.
“I thought our defense was tremendous tonight. Swarmed the ball. Stopped the run. Created a lot of turnovers. I think they got an early first down on a PI call, and I don't remember them getting another first down until the end of the half," said Curt Cignetti.
Cignetti is right, the defense was tremendous, as it not only executed on the field, but did so in a dominant way, a way that allowed Indiana to defeat its rival by the biggest margin it ever has, while also securing a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Like Cignetti mentioned, Purdue gained a first down on a pass interference penalty on its first drive, but then failed to do so again until the last drive of the first half.
This was truly a dominant half of football for IU, as it allowed just 54 yards in the opening half vs. Purdue, making big stops throughout, while also grabbing an interception.
That interception was made by Jailin Walker, his second INT in as many games, as he picked one off at Ohio State, and made another impact here against the Boilermakers.
This was one of the many great plays Walker made throughout the game, as he also had 1.5 sacks, four tackles for loss and a forced fumble to make this one of the most impressive individual performances this IU defense has seen all season.
"Every game we go into, you’re supposed to have 100% confidence. You know coach Haines’ gameplan, he always gives us a great game plan every week and like we got to be confident, we got to stick to the game plan and just execute it like we executed it," said Walker postgame, explaining how confidence played a key role in his and his teammates' performance out there against Purdue.
This was a great first half, as the defense was truly dominant right out of the gate and allowed IU to grab a 28-0 lead at the half. Even with such a solid showing in the first half, the Hoosiers were still hungry and ready to prove if on the defensive end, as it would be an even more impressive performance after halftime, allowing just two first downs in the entire second half.
In the second half, the IU defense started out with a bang, forcing a fumble on Purdue's first play of the half, as Devin Mockobee lost the football on a handoff and C.J. West pounced on it to give Indiana the possession.
After this, the Hoosiers would force three consecutive three and outs out of Purdue, showing that, even with a commanding lead, it still wouldn't allow the Boilermakers to have anything on offense, especially as these three drives combined for negative three yards of offense.
On these three and outs, Jailin Walker said “when we get that big third down stop I know it brings energy to our special teams and to our offense when we get that three and out."
Walker himself made some impact plays on these third downs, letting everyone know that, while he got an interception in the first half, he wouldn't let up after halftime, Curt Cignetti saying “I've always considered Jailin Walker an impact player. He's a will linebacker that can play, run and hit guys."
This proved itself once more as, in the fourth quarter, Walker got things started for the Indiana defense in the fourth by forcing a fumble, his second turnover forced in the game.
While the entire defense was phenomenal, Walker stood out as a guy that made the right play seemingly every single time he was out there, leading to this impressive defensive performance as a whole.
Continuing in the fourth quarter, this is where the turnovers started to rack up for IU as, after Walker's forced fumble, the Hoosiers forced two more turnovers in the quarter, one more fumble and an interception.
Later on in the final quarter, Rolijah Hardy forced a fumble from Jaheim Merriweather that was recovered by Jamari Sharpe for Indiana's fourth takeaway of the game, giving IU a fourth takeaway.
This wasn't all, though, as on the very next drive Ryan Browne was picked off by Bryson Bonds. This would be the last Purdue drive of the game, allowing IU to cap off an incredible performance with another turnover.
This may seem inconsequential, but Cignetti mentions that even style points are key, saying “Obviously style points are important this time of year, right. Style points of earned, right. But more than anything else, we wanted to play from the first play to the last play in a rivalry game that Indiana had not won in four or five years.”
This was shown on the field as, even when up by exorbitant amounts, the Indiana defense didn't let up, showing that it would be dominant group from kickoff until the final whistle was blown.
This win, a 66-0 win over an arch-rival, was certainly everything Indiana hoped for and more, but it leads the Hoosiers onto something greater, the College Football Playoff. This is because of the performance seen today, and the defense in particular, surely proved that this team is worthy of a bid.
Jailin Walker, reflecting on all this said “I mean it feels special, you know but we’re never satisfied. This is just step one, we’re ready for the college football playoffs, so I mean just we’re never satisfied. It feels good, it feels great, but you know that this wasn't our mission, our mission to go to the college playoff."
Their mission was achieved with this win, a win that proved that in the CFP, this defense will be a force to be reckoned with, as Indiana was tremendous from start to finish, shutting out Purdue en route to a dominant victory in the Old Oaken Bucket Game.
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