Being a defensive coordinator on a team that likes to push the tempo, you know that your defense is going to be out on the field more than normal. It's just part of the gig, and Indiana defensive coordinator Brian Knorr understands that.
However, going into their game with Missouri last Saturday, Knorr had a feeling that his defense was going to be on the field even more snaps than normal. Mizzou came into the game averaging 70 plays per game through their first four games. Combine that with Indiana's fast pace on offense and your defense is bound to see a ton of snaps.
To prepare for that, Knorr and his defensive staff had to make sure that everyone ranging from the starters to the third stringers that made the travel roster were ready to take live snaps against a top 25 SEC team...which is a tall order.
"There were times out there where we had guys that were third-teamers at the time. We played a lot of guys. We're always going to play a lot of snaps, we anticipate that, we understand that."
"I think this is the first time that I've ever been associated with a travel team that played all but one player that we took." Knorr noted in his presser yesterday.
While I'm not exactly sure if Knorr is saying that all but one guy that traveled as a part of the defensive unit played on Saturday, or if the entire travel party (offense, defense and special teams - minus one) played; either way, it's impressive as hell.
To walk out of Columbia, Missouri with a 31-27 win doing it that way is even more impressive. My hat goes off to the staff at Indiana.