BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – If you only saw the final score of Indiana football’s game against Maryland on Saturday – the Hoosiers won 42-28 and improved to 5-0 for the first time since 1967 – you might assume Indiana’s offense was the has gained the upper hand.

If you look at the box score and see that quarterback Kurtis Rourke threw for 359 yards and three touchdowns, your belief might be reinforced. The same goes for running back Ty Son Lawton’s 93 rushing yards and Elijah Sarratt’s seven-catch, 128-yard day.

The numbers say what they say. But on this day, Indiana’s defense set the tone. From an overwhelming start to a suffocating end.

The box score alone doesn’t reflect how good Indiana’s defense was. Maryland managed 401 total yards of offense. The Terrapins broke off a 75-yard touchdown run. They averaged 5.6 yards per play.

These are Indiana’s worst defensive numbers of the season. That’s why numbers alone never tell the whole story.

It’s about how a unit reacts when it’s thrown to the wolves. This is where the Indiana defense found itself after the offense was unusually liberal with the ball.

Rourke threw two interceptions in the first quarter, the first two turnovers Indiana committed this season. An away team dreams of getting two takeaways at the start of the game. It’s the best way to put the opponent on their heels and take the crowd out of the game.

Indiana’s defense refused to allow this. After the first interception, the tone was set. Maryland quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. was pressured on his first play, an incomplete pass. On his second pass attempt, strong defensive tackle CJ West wrapped him up for a 7-yard sack.

After Rourke’s second interception, which was a little more dangerous because it took place in midfield, the defense answered the bell again. Edwards threw an incomplete pass and was then sacked by James Carpenter. The result was another three-pointer for the Terps, and the Hoosiers could breathe a sigh of relief.

As a defender it is a difficult situation when you have to stop after losing the ball. Linebacker Aiden Fisher explained the Hoosiers’ mentality.

“We think they think they have the momentum now. They’re trying to build on that. This game is just full of momentum. So once you get that going, it’s hard to stop,” Fisher said. “Our view is that we are trying to stop this dynamic before it can even begin.”

It wasn’t just the momentum killers that helped Indiana. The Hoosiers set a bad tone that only lasted once or twice the rest of the game.

The Hoosiers would sack Edwards five times. Carpenter had two sacks, Mikail Kamara and West each had one. Linebackers Jailin Walker and Aiden Fisher shared a sack.

“There’s nothing better than getting a sack in the first quarter. Then you know you are at their mercy. That was huge,” Kamara said.

Edwards was never comfortable, and it should also be noted that two of his most important completions – one a touchdown and one a catch that kept a scoring drive alive – came from crazy balls that found Terrapin receivers.

Indiana wasn’t done turning the ball over after the early interceptions. Kaelon Black fumbled at the Maryland 41-yard line with five minutes left in the second quarter. At that time it was a 7:7 game.

The defense was not intimidated. They forced a three-pointer to keep Maryland from gaining a foothold.

Finally, in the fourth quarter, Rourke fumbled the ball as Indiana tried to protect a 35-21 lead. Once again, the defense swept aside any fear.

Carpenter had another sack as the Terps went back seven yards, ending many hopes of a comeback. It was one of three series in which Maryland turned the ball over on downs in the second half.

“I think we handled (adversity) well,” Kamara said. “We reacted. We had turnovers, we had a one-play touchdown. This is usually when the losing teams would probably get upset and start arguing. Then the gap opens up, but we handled it quite well.”

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti praised the defensive line.

“That’s where it all starts, right at the beginning. We are experienced in advance. We believe this is one of our strengths and it was definitely one of the areas they weren’t particularly comfortable with coming into the game. We needed a big win there and I think we got it,” Cignetti said.

Indiana’s strength in its 5-0 start has been its complementary football. The offense took advantage of what the defense gave it in a relatively balanced manner and vice versa. There is a trust factor that is part of the Hoosiers’ identity.

For the first time Saturday, one side needed a little help as the Hoosiers’ offense needed to be saved from its own mistakes.

Time and time again, Indiana’s defense was up to the task. This game is theirs. They gave Indiana’s players, coaches and fans a chance to dream about what a 5-0 start could mean for the Hoosiers.

If the defense hadn’t done that, the Hoosiers might as well have lamented the what-ifs.