Hoosiers Survive Upset Scare Against Northwestern 29-23, Move to 4-0

It was not particularly pretty and the victory could be quite costly but the Indiana Hoosiers survived a stiff challenge from the Northwestern Wildcats and improved to 4-0 (1-0). On a picture perfect night in Bloomington, the #5 Hoosiers lost running back Turbo Richard and linebacker Rolijah Hardy to injury but won their 20^th game in a row with a 29-23 victory. Lee Beebe stepped up in Richard’s absence and ran for 203 yards and the Hoosiers withstood a superb second half from Aiden Chiles and the Northwestern offense. Isaiah Jones made a diving recovery of an onside kick and IU picked up a first down on another strong run by Lee Beebe. The final first down ran out the clock and sealed the victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED FOR THE HOOSIERS

• A hip drop tackle and late hit out of bounds by Northwestern sent IU running back Turbo Richard to the locker room with what appeared to be a serious injury. He left the game with 68 yards on the ground and IU’s offense was really hurt by his absence.
• Indiana dominated the first half and outgained Northwestern 243-51. Only being ahead 12-0 felt like a real missed opportunity.
• Aidan Chiles deserves credit for the way he played in the second half. He carved IU’s defense apart and was outstanding after the break.
• There are plenty of concerns for IU as they exit this game: the secondary was carved up in the second half, IU is now very thin at running back and the Hoosiers had an uncharacteristic amount of costly penalties.
• IU is 4-0 and 1-0 in the Big Ten and the Hoosiers have now won 20 games in a row.

STANDOUT STATS

• Lee Beebe stepped up when it was absolutely necessary. 24 carries with 203 yards and a touchdown.
• Indiana was dominant on the ground: 271 to 32 with 6.8 yards per rush.
• Northwestern threw for 293 yards with much of that coming in the second half. IU’s secondary needs serious work moving forward.

Indiana hits the road for the first time as they travel to Rutgers next Saturday. Hoosier Huddle will have more coverage of IU’s narrow win over the Wildcats.