Indiana opened Big Ten play with a 29-23 win over Northwestern, extending its winning streak to 20 straight games.
Unlike the first three games, Indiana got its first real “scare” since the national championship game against Miami back in January. Quarterback Josh Hoover still hasn’t turned the ball over, but he missed some throws early that could have resulted in points. Running back Lee Beebe Jr. posted season highs across the board after Turbo Richard went down with an injury. After the defense held opponents scoreless for 10 straight quarters, Northwestern put up 23 points in the second half alone.
Indiana left Memorial Stadium 4-0 on Friday night, but the way the Hoosiers got there gave them plenty to think about before hitting the road for the first time this season.
A Much-Needed Test
“Okay, good win, hard-fought game,” head coach Curt Cignetti said. “I tried to tell everybody Northwestern was a good football team, but people weren’t buying that.”
Northwestern isn’t considered a powerhouse in the Big Ten, but the Wildcats made some major changes this past offseason. This was the third time quarterback Aidan Chiles had faced Indiana. The first two times were with Michigan State, where his only two touchdown passes were to current Indiana wide receiver Nick Marsh. Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly joined Northwestern after stints with UCLA, Ohio State, and three NFL teams dating back to 2013.
Northwestern had barely threatened Indiana through the first half, but then the game completely changed. The Wildcats scored on four straight possessions in the second half, turning what looked like another comfortable Indiana win into a one-possession game.
For the first time this season, Indiana was looking for a response. Injuries have hurt Indiana’s defense through the first few weeks, but against Northwestern, the running back room was running thin. Beebe Jr. took charge as the only healthy running back, carrying the ball 24 times for 203 yards and a touchdown. Of those yards, 172 came in the second half, including runs of 39 and 70 yards. Both runs helped set up touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
“Lee made plays and made guys miss,” Hoover said postgame. “I’m really proud of Lee just the way he stepped up tonight with Turbo going down. And I’m really proud of those guys up front and receivers getting blocks downfield.”
Indiana has dropped one spot in the AP Poll in each of the past two weeks, but Cignetti sees value in his team finally being pushed late in a game.
“Last game, we were in a close game and prevailed,” Cignetti said. “There is value in that.”
Winning Doesn’t Hide the Mistakes
“We’re not going to go very far playing the way we played Friday night,” Cignetti said.
Hoover finished the game 19-for-29 with 201 yards and two total touchdowns, but his stat line doesn’t show the missed opportunities. Hoover missed the mark on a few throws to Marsh early that could have opened up the offense.
The deep ball has been something to watch for Hoover as six of his 11 passing touchdowns have gone to Charlie Becker. Four of them have come from at least 30 yards out. Against Northwestern, the deep ball wasn’t clicking as Hoover underthrew and overthrew Becker on deep shots during a sluggish offensive stretch in the first half.
“We had two missed ops in my mind that left 14 points out there,” Hoover said. “We’re still early, we’re still getting our rhythm and timing down. We’re going to clean those things up and we’re going to have a really explosive offense.”
With the passing game struggling to find those plays, Indiana continued to lean on its rushing attack. But even with the success on the ground, the Hoosiers struggled near the goal line. On its opening drive, Indiana was stopped on fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line. Later in the fourth quarter, the Hoosiers ran the ball three straight times from the one and were stopped each time. Facing fourth-and-goal, Hoover pulled the ball himself and walked into the end zone.
“Northwestern was fully committed to stopping the inside run which is why we had Josh pull the ball on the last touchdown,” Cignetti said.
The struggles weren’t limited to the offense. For the second straight week, Indiana had trouble containing a quarterback who could make plays outside the pocket. After facing a similar challenge against Western Kentucky, Chiles gave the Hoosiers problems with his legs, especially in the second half.
Indiana racked up 19 total pressures, with 17 of them being hurries. Chiles was able to escape the pocket and extend plays several times. He turned what should have been negative plays into throwing opportunities, ultimately finishing with 293 passing yards and three total touchdowns.
“He’s a great athlete,” linebacker Isaiah Jones said. “We just have to keep him contained in the pocket because he’s a dangerous runner. It’s all kinds of little things that stack up, starting up front and going all the way to the back end.”
Indiana still found a way to win, but mistakes on both sides of the ball made the game much closer than it needed to be. With Big Ten play just getting started, the Hoosiers will have to clean some of those up as they head on the road.
Taking It on the Road
The Hoosiers will travel to Piscataway, New Jersey to take on Rutgers for their first road test. Despite Rutgers’ early struggles, Indiana will still face a challenging environment away from Memorial Stadium.
“Rutgers this week and it's their homecoming,” Cignetti said. “They're expecting a sellout, blackout, 56,000 people. They're capable of scoring points and they do score points.”
The Scarlet Knights are coming off their first win of the season this past Saturday against Howard, with wide receiver K.J. Duff leading the way with five catches for 131 yards and a touchdown. Rutgers’ offense has been clicking, scoring at least 20 points every game, including a 35-point performance against USC.
“K.J. Duff is a premier receiver and their other receivers are developing,” Cignetti said. “They got a good running back, Antwan Raymond. Offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarocca does a nice job with that offense. Greg Schiano is obviously a great coach. Coached in the NFL.”
Indiana survived its first close game of the season, but now it has to prove it can clean up the mistakes on the road. A win on Saturday night would move the Hoosiers to 5-0 and keep their winning streak alive as Big Ten play starts to ramp up.
