Indiana’s offense enjoyed a dominant day in its 56-7 rout of Nebraska, but an excellent defense continues to be just as critical to the program’s undefeated start. The Hoosiers’ defense is one of the big movers in this week’s stop rate standings.
What is stop rate? It’s a basic measurement of success: the percentage of a defense’s drives that end in punts, turnovers or a turnover on downs. Defensive coordinators have the same goal regardless of their scheme, opponent or conference: Prevent points and get off the field. Stop rate is a simple metric but can offer a good reflection of a defense’s effectiveness on a per-drive basis in today’s faster-tempo game.
Last year, national champ Michigan finished No. 1 with a defensive stop rate of 81.6% in its games against FBS opponents. The top 25 teams in the final 2023 stop rate standings won a total of 249 games, with seven earning conference titles. Great teams find a way to get stops in critical situations.
To be clear, stop rate is not an advanced stat and is no substitute for Bill Connelly’s SP+ or other more comprehensive metrics. It’s merely a different method for evaluating success on defense.
Indiana’s defense climbed from No. 16 to No. 9 in this week’s updated standings, with a stop rate of 75.4%, after shutting down Dylan Raiola and the Huskers.
Defensive coordinator Bryant Haines’ crew grabbed five takeaways, including three interceptions, and got nine third-down stops. The Hoosiers also became the only FBS defense to go 5-for-5 on stopping fourth-down conversions in a game this season, according to TruMedia.
Another impressive stat that stood out to Indiana coach Curt Cignetti: Indiana was able to convert the five turnovers into 28 points.
“You don’t see that very often,” Cignetti said Monday.
But he’s used to seeing it from his DC. Haines coached the No. 12 stop rate defense in the country last season at James Madison, and their 2022 defense finished No. 8 in this metric after Haines was promoted to DC. Cignetti’s programs are known for cutting-edge offenses, but Haines has been with him since the Elon and IUP days and is still succeeding even against tougher Big Ten competition.
A few more movers to note exiting Week 8:
Note: All data is courtesy of TruMedia. Games against FCS opponents and end-of-half drives in which the opponent took a knee or ran out the clock were filtered out.