Jack’s Take: Indiana Hasn’t Seen A Rushing Attack Like Notre Dame’s

Strengths will be tested in the College Football Playoff first-round matchup between No. 7 seed Notre Dame, which has a dynamic run game, and No. 10 seed Indiana, which has a dominant run defense

Indiana's Lanell Carr Jr. (41), James Carptenter (99) and the Hoosiers line up against Purdue at Memorial Stadium. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – All season, opponents have hit a wall trying to run on the Hoosiers.

Indiana has the nation’s top-ranked run defense, allowing just 70.8 yards per game. And all season, Notre Dame ran the ball whenever it wanted, ranking second nationally with 6.3 yards per carry.

That sets up a good-on-good matchup in the trenches between No. 7 seed Notre Dame and No. 10 seed Indiana in the first round of the College Football Playoff at 8 p.m. ET on Dec. 20 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind. Which team wins the battle of Indiana’s run defense versus Notre Dame’s rushing offense will go a long way in deciding the outcome and who advances to face No. 2 seed Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

Shutting down the Irish run game below its season low of 117 rushing yards would be a best-case scenario for the Hoosiers. But even if they can just limit Notre Dame enough to force frequent third-and-long passing situations, the Hoosiers could make game-changing plays. Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard is not an outstanding down-field passer, and its group of good-not-great receivers will be challenged by Indiana first-team All-Big Ten cornerback D’Angelo Ponds.

The Hoosiers expect to create those situations, because they’ve shown up week in and week out and stuffed the run under defensive coordinator Bryant Haines. They rank second nationally in yards per carry allowed, just 2.6, only behind Ole Miss. Indiana allowed a season-high 137 rushing yards in its 52-14 win over Charlotte, and it has allowed over 100 rushing yards just four times all season. Purdue rushed for just 13 yards. Western Illinois rushed for only 12. Michigan State finished with negative 36.

What has led to Indiana’s dominance against the run?

“The angles that we play with, the pursuit to the ball, that edge that we play with,” Indiana first-team All-Big Ten linebacker Aiden Fisher said. “I've talked about it before, a lot of guys that are here right now aren't supposed to be here. They aren't big enough. They aren't fast enough. We carry that with us in the Monday walkthrough to Saturday kickoff. So it's really just being able to play together, play off each other extremely well, and just doing our assignments and playing fast."

"Especially the defensive line, we have pride in that," CJ West said. "That's like, a big run breaks out, it's heartbreaking for us because we know that's our job to do that. So having that mentality of stopping the run, that's like dominating the people in front of you. That's the only way you stop the run, is personally dominating the person in front of me. If you lose that battle, big runs break out. So we all focus on that, do our one-on-ones, do our job, dominate the person in front of us and everything else will go our way."

Indiana's Aiden Fisher (4) celebrates a stop against Purdue at Memorial Stadium. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

But how much of that is influenced by their schedule? The rushing statistics say a great deal. Nine of Indiana’s 12 opponents rank outside the top 90 in rushing yards per game in the FBS. That’s not even counting Western Illinois, which ranks 93rd among FCS programs in that category. 

The same nine opponents rank outside the top 80 in the FBS in yards per carry. Add Western Illinois, and it’s 10. Ohio State has the best run game Indiana has faced this season as the Buckeyes rank 59th in rushing yards per game and 26th in yards per carry. A matchup against Notre Dame will reveal whether Indiana’s run defense is truly elite, or if the statistics are inflated by opponents who’ve struggled to run the ball all season.

The raw statistics show Indiana has faced a slew of bad rushing teams, and so does the eye test. Pro Football Focus grades every player on every play in every game, and their criteria agree. Washington, Michigan State and Ohio State are the only teams in the top 50 in the FBS in PFF’s run grade, and the Buckeyes are the only opponent with a top-50 run-blocking grade, coming in at No. 36th.

Here are the rushing stats and grades, with corresponding national rankings, for Indiana’s 2024 opponents. (stats, rankings and grades via stats.ncaa.org, teamrankings.com, Pro Football Focus.)

• Florida International: 120.6 rush yards per game (104th), 3.6 yards per carry (109th), 74.3 run grade (117th), 63.7 run-blocking grade (68th).
• Western Illinois: 123.2 rush yards per game (93rd in FCS), 3.7 yards per carry (92nd in FCS), 75.2 run grade (74th in FCS), 43.1 run-blocking (121st in FCS).
• UCLA: 86.6 rush yards per game (130th), 3.1 yards per carry (125th), 72.3 run grade (122nd), 53.9 run-blocking grade (111th).
• Charlotte: 117.1 rush yards per game (106th), 3.9 yards per carry (87th), 79.2 run grade (82nd), 62.2 run-blocking grade (79th).
• Maryland: 110.4 rush yards per game (117th),  3.4 yards per carry (114th), 81.0 run grade (71st), 43.0 run-blocking grade (133rd).
• Northwestern: 98.5 rush yards per game (122nd), 3.1 yards per carry (128th), 71.1 run grade (126th), 63.3 run-blocking grade (73rd).
• Nebraska: 130.4 rush yards per game (95th), 3.6 yards per carry (102nd), 83.3 run grade (58th), 64.0 run-blocking grade (61st).
• Washington: 131.3 rush yards per game (93rd), 4.0 yards per carry (84th), 86.1 run grade (39th), 56.1 run-blocking grade (106th).
• Michigan State: 115.3 rush yards per game (110th), 3.4 yards per carry (116th), 85.5 run grade (42nd), 56.1 run-blocking grade (106th).
• Michigan: 160.7 rush yards per game (69th), 4.4 yards per carry (57th), 82.0 run grade (62nd), 63.0 run-blocking grade (74th).
• Ohio State: 169.2 rush yards per game (59th), 5.0 yards per carry (26th), 90.8 run grade (15th), 68.3 run-blocking grade (36th). 
• Purdue: 115.3 rush yards per game (110th), 3.6 yards per carry (105th), 78.3 run grade (93rd), 60.4 run-blocking grade (87th).

Indiana must be ready for a significant step up in competition when it faces Notre Dame’s run game. The Fighting Irish rank 10th with 224.8 rushing yards per game, second with 6.3 yards per carry, fourth with a PFF run grade of 93.6 and 10th with a 76.4 run-blocking grade. Notre Dame has rushed for over 200 yards in eight games, and it has averaged over six yards per carry seven times. 

“Really good football team, really good on the ground,” Fisher said. “They always look to establish the run game, and that's been their identity all year. We're excited for it and look forward to it.”

Perhaps the same could be said about Notre Dame’s rushing attack – that it hasn’t faced a defense like Indiana’s. The Hoosiers rank ahead of all of Notre Dame opponents in rushing yards allowed per game and PFF’s grades for defense and rushing defense. Notre Dame’s rushing offense and Indiana’s run defense are both set to face their toughest challenges yet. But the gap is much larger for the Hoosiers.

Notre Dame averaged a season-high 9.4 yards per carry and totaled 273 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns against an Army defense that’s ranked 11th against the run. Texas A&M is 17th in PFF’s run defense grade, and the Irish ran for 198 yards, 5.8 yards per carry and two rushing touchdowns in the 23-13 road win. Notre Dame’s worst rushing game of the season came against Louisville, which is ranked 12th in PFF’s run defense grade, generating 117 rushing yards and 3.8 yards per carry. 

“They’re just a well-rounded group,” Indiana defensive lineman James Carpenter said. “Running backs are very good, very talented. I think the quarterback is also very underrated, he can really run it, too. A young, but a good o-line. So I think all those things combined play into it. But I just think all around they’re a good team.”

Notre Dame does not rely on just one player to carry the load, either. Sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love leads the Irish with 134 carries and 949 yards, good for 7.1 yards per carry and 15 rushing touchdowns. He’s also a pass-catching threat, hauling in 22 receptions for 206 yards. Love can beat defenders in the open field with his speed, make them miss with agile cuts or even leap over them like he’s done several times this season.

He does it again 🤯@JeremiyahLove is unbelievable #GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/IiCyCQArn9

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) November 30, 2024

“Our goal is to go in and stop the run, do what we do,” West said. “They can pass the ball, so you know, gotta get pressure on the quarterback when they do that. And stopping the run, make sure number four [Love] doesn’t try to take over the game. That’s our job, and we’re gonna make sure we do that and prepare during the week so that’s what happens.”

Junior running back Jadarian Price frequently mixes in to keep Love fresh. Price has 89 carries for 651 yards, leading to seven touchdowns and 7.3 yards per carry. He’s perhaps a bit more powerful inside the tackles than Love, but his speed isn’t to be overlooked, either.  

Indiana has faced talented running backs, like Washington’s Jonah Coleman and Michigan’s Kalel Mullings, both of whom rushed for over 900 yards this season. But the Hoosiers haven’t faced a quarterback who is a rushing threat like Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard. 

The 6-foot-4 senior transfer from Duke ranks ninth among quarterbacks nationally with 721 rushing yards, fifth with 5.8 yards per carry and tied for sixth with 14 rushing touchdowns. Indiana has faced a couple mobile quarterbacks – like Western Illinois’ Nathan Lamb (348 rushing yards), Northwestern’s Jack Lausch (213) and Michigan State’s Aidan Chiles (225) – but none at Leonard’s level in the run game. 

More than any game this season, Indiana will have to be mindful of designed quarterback runs and Leonard’s scrambling ability.

“When you look back at the teams we've played, we've seen a lot of pocket passers, and we've seen some mobile guys as well,” Fisher said. “We've just got to take into account we've got to be ready for option plays, designed quarterback runs, stuff like that, just making sure we're not falling asleep if he pulls the ball.”

“Our mindset is still stopping the run,” West said. “There’s nothing that changes with that, just being very aggressive up front and causing problems for the offensive line to where the quarterback can’t just run freely.”

There will certainly be other factors in this matchup, but it starts at the line of scrimmage. Cignetti’s Hoosiers – and his previous James Madison teams – have always been strong against the run and create frequent tackles for loss. Notre Dame, for years, has hung its hat on a consistent rushing attack with dynamic backs and future NFL offensive linemen. 

The in-state opponents will meet for the first time since 1991, this time with a shot at the national championship at stake. 

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