IU’s Defense Rested, Ready For Duke
12/21/2015 4:00:00 PM | Football
By: Sam Beishuizen | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana hasn't played Duke since 1984, which makes defensive coordinator Brian Knorr a little more valuable this week.
Knorr may just know Duke better than anybody on IU's coaching staff, having spent six years coaching against the Blue Devils while at Wake Forest before coming to Bloomington last season.
He hasn't had to worry much about Duke head coach David Cutcliffe's offense since 2013 but said he hasn't missed much. The Blue Devils appear to play the same way today as they did when Knorr was coaching against them two seasons ago.
"To me, they haven't changed a whole lot from when I was there," Knorr said. "They do what they do, and they do it very well."
Duke runs a slightly unconventional offense that revolves around Thomas Sirk, a 6-foot-4 junior quarterback who will garner most of the Hoosiers' attention.
Sirk has completed 60 percent of his passes for 2,462 yards and 15 touchdowns against just six interceptions. He's also a threat on the ground, where he's carried the ball 133 times for 701 yards and six touchdowns.
The Blue Devils put a hefty load on Sirk's shoulders to orchestrate their zone read offense that puts a priority on safe, meticulous drives. Duke doesn't make many mistakes and will commit to punishing defenses on the ground.
"You've got a 6-foot-4, 225 pound quarterback running read zone, and he's the number one ball carrier on their team," Knorr said. "Whether you're playing Georgia Tech and Navy and triple option or whether you're playing Duke and read zone, you've got to be option sound. I think that's something that we've made very clear."
Indiana has looked to sophomore quarterback Zander Diamont to simulate Sirk's skillset. Diamont, who's three inches shorter and 45 pounds lighter than Sirk, has a similar skillset where he's able to use his legs and quick decision making to his advantage.
"Zander Diamont gives us a tremendous look," Knorr said. "That's one of the things he does well, and our offense does a good job of that. Just being able to get our guys sound, it's really no different than triple option football. You've got to have all phases taken care of."
Sirk hasn't leaned too heavily on one receiver in particular. Duke has four receivers with more than 31 catches, led by senior Max McCaffrey's 48 for 601 yards and five touchdowns. Freshman
TJ Rahming is second, hauling in 40 passes for 522 yards. Junior Johnell Barnes has 34 receptions for 411 yards and junior Anthony Nash has 31 catches for 471 yards.
Sirk and his receivers will look to attack an Indiana secondary that received some much-needed rest the last two weeks. Injuries on top of an already thin secondary left true freshmen like Jonathan Crawford, Andre Brown, Jr., Jameel Cook, Jr., and Leon Thornton III playing longer than anticipated this season. Thornton wasn't even brought in as a cornerback but has had to switch from wide receiver to fill the void.
"You don't mean to, but I think you overplay them and you over-practice them," head coach Kevin Wilson said. "There's a couple freshmen that I thought should have played, last year and this year, that we didn't get worked up. But sometimes it takes courage to play that guy that's going to fall on his face. Jonathan Crawford played too much early and really wore out this year. He's felt better."
Although Duke's offense will test Indiana's secondary, as well as the rest of the defense, Knorr said he was confident the Hoosiers would be prepared come the day after Christmas. IU is used to playing against dynamic offenses every day at practice.
"It's a luxury, our offense," Knorr said. "Big plays are what's hurt us this year, and we've got to do a great job of limiting (them). Our team simulates that as well as anybody, the speed of the game that we'll see. Duke can go fast just like some of the teams we've seen, just like our team. Going against some of our guys definitely keeps us sharp."
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Indiana (6-6) will face Duke (7-5) in the 2015 New Era Pinstripe Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 26. The game will be held at Yankee Stadium with a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff on ABC. Student tickets for the Pinstripe Bowl are just $10 and can be purchased by clicking here. Tickets for the general public can be purchased by clicking here.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana hasn't played Duke since 1984, which makes defensive coordinator Brian Knorr a little more valuable this week.
Knorr may just know Duke better than anybody on IU's coaching staff, having spent six years coaching against the Blue Devils while at Wake Forest before coming to Bloomington last season.
He hasn't had to worry much about Duke head coach David Cutcliffe's offense since 2013 but said he hasn't missed much. The Blue Devils appear to play the same way today as they did when Knorr was coaching against them two seasons ago.
"To me, they haven't changed a whole lot from when I was there," Knorr said. "They do what they do, and they do it very well."
Duke runs a slightly unconventional offense that revolves around Thomas Sirk, a 6-foot-4 junior quarterback who will garner most of the Hoosiers' attention.
Sirk has completed 60 percent of his passes for 2,462 yards and 15 touchdowns against just six interceptions. He's also a threat on the ground, where he's carried the ball 133 times for 701 yards and six touchdowns.
The Blue Devils put a hefty load on Sirk's shoulders to orchestrate their zone read offense that puts a priority on safe, meticulous drives. Duke doesn't make many mistakes and will commit to punishing defenses on the ground.
"You've got a 6-foot-4, 225 pound quarterback running read zone, and he's the number one ball carrier on their team," Knorr said. "Whether you're playing Georgia Tech and Navy and triple option or whether you're playing Duke and read zone, you've got to be option sound. I think that's something that we've made very clear."
Indiana has looked to sophomore quarterback Zander Diamont to simulate Sirk's skillset. Diamont, who's three inches shorter and 45 pounds lighter than Sirk, has a similar skillset where he's able to use his legs and quick decision making to his advantage.
"Zander Diamont gives us a tremendous look," Knorr said. "That's one of the things he does well, and our offense does a good job of that. Just being able to get our guys sound, it's really no different than triple option football. You've got to have all phases taken care of."
Sirk hasn't leaned too heavily on one receiver in particular. Duke has four receivers with more than 31 catches, led by senior Max McCaffrey's 48 for 601 yards and five touchdowns. Freshman
TJ Rahming is second, hauling in 40 passes for 522 yards. Junior Johnell Barnes has 34 receptions for 411 yards and junior Anthony Nash has 31 catches for 471 yards.
Sirk and his receivers will look to attack an Indiana secondary that received some much-needed rest the last two weeks. Injuries on top of an already thin secondary left true freshmen like Jonathan Crawford, Andre Brown, Jr., Jameel Cook, Jr., and Leon Thornton III playing longer than anticipated this season. Thornton wasn't even brought in as a cornerback but has had to switch from wide receiver to fill the void.
"You don't mean to, but I think you overplay them and you over-practice them," head coach Kevin Wilson said. "There's a couple freshmen that I thought should have played, last year and this year, that we didn't get worked up. But sometimes it takes courage to play that guy that's going to fall on his face. Jonathan Crawford played too much early and really wore out this year. He's felt better."
Although Duke's offense will test Indiana's secondary, as well as the rest of the defense, Knorr said he was confident the Hoosiers would be prepared come the day after Christmas. IU is used to playing against dynamic offenses every day at practice.
"It's a luxury, our offense," Knorr said. "Big plays are what's hurt us this year, and we've got to do a great job of limiting (them). Our team simulates that as well as anybody, the speed of the game that we'll see. Duke can go fast just like some of the teams we've seen, just like our team. Going against some of our guys definitely keeps us sharp."
#####
Indiana (6-6) will face Duke (7-5) in the 2015 New Era Pinstripe Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 26. The game will be held at Yankee Stadium with a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff on ABC. Student tickets for the Pinstripe Bowl are just $10 and can be purchased by clicking here. Tickets for the general public can be purchased by clicking here.
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