IU at Ohio State, 4 p.m. Saturday, Fox

BLOOMINGTON — Brandon Shelby’s expectations for IU’s trip to Ohio State are measured.

The Hoosiers’ cornerbacks coach doesn’t expect to shut the Buckeyes out. OSU averages 49 points per game and touched up Oregon State for 77 in the season opener. Shelby doesn’t expect IU’s young secondary to hold the Buckeyes’ leading receivers, such as Fort Wayne native Austin Mack, to zero catches. That’s asinine — Shelby’s word — as OSU boasts the Big Ten’s best pass efficiency rating.

What Shelby looks at are competitive plays. Make them, and the Hoosiers have a shot at a win in Ohio Stadium for the first time since 1987. Miss them, and a tough environment to win in becomes that much tougher.

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“We’ve got to make sure that when the opportunity comes for us to make a play, to get a pick, the ball’s tipped, we make it,” Shelby said. “That’s what great defenses do.”

The departures of Chase Dutra, Rashard Fant, Tony Fields and others from the secondary forced the Hoosiers to break in a youth-heavy group in 2018. Senior safety Jonathan Crawford and junior cornerback A’Shon Riggins are among those whose returns ensured it wasn’t a complete facelift, but necessity accelerated the timeline for some to reach the field.

And yet, with the influx of youth into more prominent roles, IU’s pass defense ranks second in the Big Ten in yards allowed per game and Hoosiers have picked off five passes so far. Freshman Jamar Johnson recorded his first career interception in the win at Rutgers and has impressed IU coach Tom Allen with his ability to play multiple positions in the secondary.

“It’s rare to have a guy that can do that physically,” Allen said. “We don't have too many on our team that I can say, ‘Hey, this guy can play five different spots in the secondary.’ When did we figure that out? I would say probably once we got into fall camp, after a few weeks you could just tell.”

“What (the interception) tells you is he has the ability to do it,” Shelby added. “The one thing about young (players) — can you be mature enough to do it every week? What happens is this time of year the weather starts changing, right? It starts getting a little cooler, but yet the expectations still stay the same.”

Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins is a young player Shelby believes will deliver each week. Haskins may be a first-year starter for the Buckeyes but his 1,464 yards, 19 touchdowns and .708 completion percentage, with just two interceptions, show OSU coach Urban Meyer was right to pick the now-redshirt sophomore.

“I wasn’t aware of what grade he was,” said sophomore cornerback Raheem Layne, who Allen awarded the team’s defensive player of the game honor against Rutgers. “He’s got a real strong arm and he puts the ball where it needs to be for his receivers to make plays.”

In order to minimize that Shelby will have Layne and his teammates cover them as tight as possible so Haskins can’t use whatever time the OSU offensive line provides to pick IU apart.

Much like Michigan State’s front seven was a measuring stick for IU’s offensive line, this will be one for the Hoosier secondary. Shelby rates the Buckeye receivers as a group that can turn a game on its head at any moment with one play.

“We’re far from where we want to be at,” Layne said. “Right now we’re playing pretty good ball but it’s early in the year. If we’re playing our best this early in the year something’s wrong. We’re not playing our best yet.”

Shelby doesn’t expect the Buckeye crowd to have much an effect on that growth.

“Is (Ohio Stadium) going to be full? Yep,” Shelby said. “Are they going to have 100,000 people? Yep. But at the end of the day once you get out there and you start playing you’re locked in just like you would be if you were (at Memorial Stadium) or at Rutgers, or any other stadium.”

Follow IndyStar sports reporter Jordan Guskey on Twitter at @JordanGuskey or email him at jguskey@gannett.com.