Defense makes plays down the stretch

With 1:24 remaining in the game on Saturday, junior cornerback Antonio Watson was called for a pass interference penalty, putting William and Mary 15 yards out from the potential game-tying score. Instead of losing his cool, Watson came up with two huge defensive plays in the final 11 seconds and led IU to its first opening game win since 1999.\n"I just knew I had to come back and make a big play the next time around," Watson said. "I felt like he ran on my heels, but I just stayed focused and got ready for the next down. I felt like they were going to come right back at me. I play every down as if they are going to throw it to my man. I just kept my poise."\nThe final 11 seconds couldn't have ticked away any faster. Coach Gerry DiNardo was busy setting up the defensive plans for the 2 point conversion attempt by William and Mary if they were to score. Defensive coordinator Tim Kish didn't even know that time had expired on the final play. \nAs time was winding down, William and Mary senior quarterback Dave Corley was scrambling around when he fired a pass to the endzone. But there was Watson, breaking up his second pass in a row and saving a victory.\n"If they (the defense) don't play that way, we don't win the game," DiNardo said. "I really think that they were driven because of how hard we were on them in camp. They really responded."\nSenior Kris Dielman led the Hoosier defensive attack by recording a sack, four and a half tackles for a loss, and recovering one fumble that led to a Hoosier score. He was excited that the defense was able to pick it up when the Hoosier offense struggled.\n"That was awesome because it's usually the other way around," Dielman said. "Seems like last year it was the opposite. Now we just need to get a solid effort from the offense and a solid effort from the defense and we'll be rockin' and rollin'."\nUnlike games in the past, it was the Hoosier defense that made the big plays and held on when the offense struggled. Usually, it was the IU offense that had to continually score when the defense was unable to shut down the opponent's offense. And when junior tailback Brian Lewis went down with an injury in the second half, it spelled bad news for the offense. Senior Derek Barnett said it was composure that helped the Hoosiers pull out the win.\n"Everybody kept their poise," Barnett said. "Nobody really panicked. Everybody went out there and did their job and got it done. It was good because in the past we haven't been able to pull things out. For the defense, I felt it was a big step."\nWilliam and Mary opened the game with a six play, 96-yard drive. It seemed like the old IU defense on the field. The Hoosiers gave up one more score in the first half but held the Tribe to just three points in the second half.\nBad snaps hurt William and Mary. Several snaps sailed over Corley's head. IU recorded five sacks and held William and Mary to negative 32 yards rushing, breaking the school record. Another snap went over the punter's head and out of the endzone, resulting in a safety, their first since 1996.\nBut turnovers are what killed the Tribe. Two fumbles and an interception ended William and Mary drives in the second half. \nDielman was pleased with the whole units' effort but knows that they still have a long way to go.\n"It's a major confidence booster because everybody said we couldn't step it up when we needed to," Dielman said. "This is just a stepping-stone. We're not finished with our progress. We've got a long way to go."\nAnd so when the Hoosiers offense didn't show up late in the game, it was the defense that finally did. But it won't always be that way, and Kish knows it.\n"It's going to go back and forth throughout the season, and we just got to be ready to respond to any situation out there and keep competing," Kish said. "If we give great effort and keep competing, hopefully the results will be the same down the road"