Indiana football coach Tom Allen ran out of words to describe his team’s defensive performance in a 48-45 overtime loss to Illinois.
None of the ones he did find were positive.
“Shocked,” Allen said, of the breakdowns in the secondary during his post game press conference.
The performance ranks among the worst all-time for Indiana. The 662 total yards the Hoosiers gave up tied for most since a 2013 loss to Wisconsin. Illinois backup quarterback John Paddock’s 507 passing yards were the third most given up all-time.
Paddock went off after Indiana took a 27-12 with 5:44 to go in the first half starting with a 67-yard bomb to Isiah Williams. Paddock averaged 21.1 yards per completion and threw 12 passes of 20-yard or more.
While Allen told listeners of his weekly radio show he expected Illinois to start Drew Altmyer on Saturday — Illinois’ starter suffered an injury last week against Minnesota — the coaching staff game planned for Paddock as well.
Allen said they watched film of the former Ball State starter and made calls to scout him.
He cited a variety of reasons for the breakdowns from poor communication to younger players simply making mistakes, but none of the adjustments the coaching staff tried to make worked either.
Nov 11, 2023; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Indiana Hoosiers head coach Tom Allen reacts on the sidelines during the second half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Illinois relied on max protection on early downs to give Paddock time to throw, and managed to pick Indiana’s secondary apart even when it dropped eight players into coverage.
The Hoosiers had some of those issues earlier this season — the most glaring failures came in a 44-17 loss to Maryland — but had cleaned those up in recent weeks.
“Very, very, very, very, very, very, frustrating to be honest with you,” Allen said.
It didn’t help that Illinois receiver Isiah Williams was a matchup nightmare for the Hoosiers. He had nine catches for 200 yards and torched anyone that lined up against him.
