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Any time a defense keeps a team under 10 points in today's college football, that's really good. Indiana's D just pitched a shutout against Howard on Saturday afternoon and Curt Cignetti actually seemed pretty content during his post-game press conference. The offense obviously did its job, scoring 55 points, but the defense shined just as bright. Several players looked great for IU and a few guys really stepped up in the dominant effort.

Using a tool like Pro Football Focus allows us to see what happened on a player-by-player basis and gives some insight as to how the game really went. It's not gospel, but there are some things that just don't show up in the box score that can tell another part of the story.

Top Three Defensive Performers (25 snap minimum)

1. LB Rolijah Hardy

It's definitely not surprising to see Hardy at the top of this list. The 5-11, 228-pounder earned a 90.2 overall grade after leading the Hoosiers in tackles with five, including one for loss and intercepting a pass that he took back 19 yards four a touchdown. Hardy is a bit undersized, but he's athletic and instinctive and always around the ball. 

2. LB Isaiah Jones

Jones was right there with Hardy in the tackle column with five of his own. Per Pro Football Focus, he earned a 74.5 overall grade and really  shined on running plays. His low mark came as a pass rusher, which is why his overall grade isn't higher. He actually played 34 snaps, two more than Hardy, on a day where a lot of backup defenders got into the game. 

3. CB Ryland Gandy

Gandy has good size for a cornerback at 6-0, 190 pounds and he put that to use against Howard. He recorded two tackles and broke up a pass against the Bison and was solid all day in coverage. His numbers don't exactly jump of the page, but he didn't have any major mistakes as Howard struggled to get anything going on offense all day.

Interesting Notes

A lot of Hoosier defenders played very well, but simply didn't log enough snaps to get into the top three. Defensive tackle Mario Landino, defensive tackle Joe Hjelle, linebacker Jacob Savage, cornerback Anthony Chung, safety Jett Utzinger, edge Stephen Daley, edge Cam McHaney and defensive tackle Keishaun Calhoun actually all had higher grades than Isaiah Jones, but none of them logged 25 snaps. This just paints the picture of how dominant IU's defense was across the board.

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