BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football defensive end Mikail Kamara was all over the field on Saturday in a 55-10 win over Maryland.
Kamara helped force the first of five turnovers at the start of the second quarter by forcing Terps freshman quarterback Malik Washington to make a panicked throw right to linebacker Kaiden Turner. He just sidestepped a guard in the backfield for an easy quarterback pressure.
He was around the ball all game long — he even dropped back into coverage on a handful of snaps — as part of IU’s latest dominant defensive effort.
The No. 2 Hoosiers (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) starting defense held Maryland to just 233 total yards of offense and eight first downs — the Terps added 60 yards against the backups in the fourth quarter — and only allowed one touchdown.
While Kamara didn’t add to his sack total, his impact went far beyond the two tackles he had in the box score, a performance that came on the heels of IU coach Curt Cignetti challenging the defender.
“I think production numbers speak for themselves,” Cignetti said of Kamara’s one sack this season. “I think he’s got another level he can play at. And I’m waiting to see it.”
The comment came after Cignetti was asked Monday about Kamara falling short of the individual goals — he wanted to break Indiana’s single-season sack record — he laid out for himself at the start of the season. Kamara, who had 10 sacks in 2024, came into the game leading IU with 27 quarterback pressures (tied for 28th among defensive ends in the FBS) and an 18.6% pass-rush win rate.
Kamara found out about Cignetti’s comments midway through the week.
“I love it,” Kamara said with a smile. “I like it when Cig challenges me, it’s always been good for me during my entire career, that’s kind of been our relationship. I didn’t even know he said it until some of my teammates told me about it. It gave me a different level of focus throughout the week. Him throwing that on top, made me want to really come out here and put on a show.”
It conjured up memories for Kamara of Cignetti openly expressing reservations about offering him a scholarship when he was coming out of Stone Bridge High School, a conversation the defender teases Cignetti about to this day.
“He knows how to get me going,” Kamara said.
Indiana’s latest defensive effort came with starting middle linebacker Aiden Fisher sidelined. The Hoosiers haven’t allowed more than 100 yards on the ground in a program-record eight straight games and only given up seven total touchdowns this year.
Kamara traced that success after the game to the IU’s physical brand of football that’s worn teams down by the second half.
“From the first play to last, you got the pedal to the metal and keep going nonstop, nonstop, nonstop,” Kamara said. “At some point they’re going to break.”
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti motivates Mikail Kamara to ‘put on a show’ vs Maryland
Reporting by Michael Niziolek, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
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