VIDEO2: What Indiana coach Tom Allen said about the Hoosiers' swarming defense
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — There is no doubt that Rutgers is really struggling right now, but there's still no way you can diminish the amazing performance turned in by Indiana's defense on Saturday.
The Hoosiers allowed only 75 yards against Rutgers during the 35-0. That's basically nothing, and that included only 1 yard passing on 5 completions. It was the Hoosiers's second shutout of the season.
The defense also put points on the board, getting a strip sack from Demarcus Elliott on the first play of the game. The loose ball was picked up by senior linebacker Reakwon Jones and he dashed off to the end zone for a 17-yard score.
Here's what Indiana football coach Tom Allen said about his young defense:
Indiana is now 4-2 against Rutgers since the Scarlet Knights joined the Big Ten in 2014, and have won four straight. It is their longest active winning streak against any conference opponent.
This was Indiana's first conference win of the season after losing games to Ohio State (51-10) and Michigan State (40-31.). Indiana now has two conferences road games ahead, facing Maryland on Oct. 19 and Nebraska on Oct. 26.
The Hoosiers' next home game is Nov. 2 against Northwestern. There's only one other home game after that, a Nov. 23 showdown against Michigan.
The Hoosiers were 27.5-point favorites coming into the game — their largest point spread ever in the Big Ten game — and they have done well as heavy favorites this year, beating Eastern Illinois 52-0 as a 36.5-point favorite and Connecticut 38-3 as a 27.5-point favorite.
