Indiana's Tobi Osunsanmi (12) and Stephen Daley (9) tackle Minnesota's Drake Lindsey (5) to seal the victory during the Indiana versus Minnesota football game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co
Indiana's Tobi Osunsanmi (12) and Stephen Daley (9) tackle Minnesota's Drake Lindsey (5) to seal the victory during the Indiana versus Minnesota football game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co · USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co

Indiana football has fielded strong defenses since Curt Cignetti and Bryant Haines arrived as head coach and coordinator back in 2024. Never has that been more important than in 2026, when the Hoosiers’ championship-caliber defense has kept games close while a largely stagnant offense has found ways to pull ahead.

The Hoosiers are fourth nationally in scoring defense and fifth in total defense in 2026, holding opponents to just 12.44 points and 259.2 yards per game.

Opposing coaches have heaped praise on the unit for years now and USC’s Lincoln Riley is no different. Riley has the Trojans at 7-2 and No. 18 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings after a 30-18 win over Ohio State two weeks ago.

He offered some thoughts on the Hoosier defense in his media availability on Tuesday following practice, noting the strong continuity Indiana has had from its coaching staff and roster under Cignetti and Haines.

“They’ve done an outstanding job,” Riley said. “It’ll be one of the deepest fronts we’ve played, in terms of the number of guys they have that can contribute and that are proven players at this level. They’ve got a full two-deep and then some of guys that they comfortably rotate.”

Riley had further thoughts on the back end of Indiana’s defense, praising how connected Indiana’s linebackers and defensive backs play.

“They’ve been tough to run the football on, they do a really nice job mixing up their coverages. I’d say it’s a good group, it’s an experienced group. You can tell they’ve played a lot of ball together and certainly they’re a group that makes you earn everything in terms of what we see on tape going into this one.”

Indiana will face USC at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana.

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Source: Yahoo Sports