Opponent: Northwestern Wildcats
Location: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN
Why They Played:
The Hoosiers and Wildcats met to open up Big Ten play. It was just the fourth matchup since 2016.
What The Game Meant
The Big Ten opener was a milestone game for the Hoosiers. While Indiana beat a good Northwestern squad, it was a sloppy affair. The Hoosiers are 1-0 in conference play and ultimately that’s all that matters right now.
Players of the Game
Offense
Lee Beebe, Running Back, Indiana
Beebe was the hero of the night for the Hoosiers. With Turbo Richard going down in the second quarter, Beebe carried the load to the tune of 208 yards on 24 carries. His 70-yard run helped seal the game for IU.
Aidan Chiles, WR, Northwestern
The Northwestern quarterback has landed in a great spot and has really stepped up his game since transferring from Michigan State. Chiles had a heroic effort for the Wildcats completing 22-of-29 passes for 293 yards and two touchdowns. He ran for one more. Most importantly, he did not turn the ball over although he did put the ball on the ground a couple times.
Luke Dehnicke, TIght End, Northwestern
The Minnesota-Duluth transfer was outstanding making seven catches for 140 yards. He took advantage of Indiana’s zone defense and found space.
Defense
Stephen Daley, DL, Indiana
While the Hoosiers struggled to bring down Chiles in the second half, Daley was a menace in the backfield most of the night. He had seven tackles, two forced fumbles and one sack.
Byron Baldwin, Rover, Indiana
Baldwin has been one of the most consistent defenders for IU in 2026. He made three tackles and was credited with a sack when he forced an intentional grounding penalty that resulted in a 21-yard loss.
Braydon Brus, Linebacker, Northwestern
Brus made five tackles and two for a loss. He was a force on a very physical Wildcat defense.
Special Teams Performance
It was great to see Nico Radicic back kicking field goals and extra points. It is one less question for IU when he trots out. He made both field goals on Friday night and both extra points. Paddy McAteer remains very good on kickoffs and the one return Northwestern had was snuffed out by a great tackle by Jeff Utzinger inside the 20-yard line.
Billy Gowers was solid punting the ball for an average of 39.5 yards and pinning Northwestern inside the 20-yard line once.
Where the Hoosiers have concern is in the return games. First, with Richard getting hurt, IU will probably need to rework their kick returners. Lee Beebe, as good as he can be, can not be subject to those hits. Either IU will need new personnel back there or just fair catch kicks until Richard and Martin are healthy and the is more running back depth.
The Hoosiers have a real problem at punt return. Once again it was Charlie Becker returning punts after Tyler Morris muffed two against Howard. Becker misplayed a return that turned into a 72-yard punt and turned what should have been great field position, into IU’s ball at their own 25. Those are the little things that can and will cost a team a game.
Key Stat(s)
24 of 35
Indiana had five trips inside the red zone for a possible 35 points. Indiana scored 24 points (three touchdowns and a field goal), but did leave 11 points on the field. While getting stuffed inside the one yard line resulted in a safety, IU needed a touchdown there.
Turning Point
Lee Beebe’s 70-yard run stemmed the tide and put enough momentum back on IU’s side to hang on for the win.
I Knew it Was Over When…
Isaiah Jones jumped on a loose ball on an onside kick. It was a play that I am sure cause a few hearts to skip a beat.
What I Took Away From the Game
This version of the Hoosiers is still figuring things out and people are realizing that maybe going 16-0 was harder than it looked last season.
It was a wacky game from the start, with two illegal snaps and a timeout called before a play from scrimmage was run. Apparently Northwestern called into the league office to report something IU was doing with wiggling the football on the snap. Usually the league will call the offenders and give them a heads-up so they fix it. Apparently the Big Ten did not.
Anytime a game has a 2-0 score after a quarter, weird things are afoot. The Hoosiers had multiple chances to put distance between them and Northwestern and may be put the game away early. There were at least three early throws that would have led to either touchdowns or explosive plays in the first quarter that would have put Northwestern in a bind.
To the Wildcats credit, they hung tough and built the belief they could and should spring the upset. Much like Indiana’s win against Penn State last year, Indiana did not put the dagger in early and paid for it. The Hoosiers had three drives into Northwestern territory early in the first half that resulted in five points. If IU punched in one or two of those, the discourse changes.
With newfound life, Northwestern battled and Indiana struggled to bring Aidan Chiles down as he extended plays and found open receivers downfield. They just couldn’t stop Lee Beebe.
The lessons learned from Friday night are fortunate to come in a win. Issues start from top to bottom. The Hoosiers need to get Hoover in rhythm earlier and the defense needs to throw some different looks at opponents. The right side of the offensive line also needs to be better.
Indiana has won 20 games in a row and moves to 4-0 on the season. Is it perfect? Not even close, but this is not a finished product.
The good news is that early reports from CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz and ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg indicate that Turbo Richard’s injury is not as severe as once thought. Losing Richard for an extended period of time would be a major blow to IU.
What’s Next
The Hoosiers hit the road for the first time in 2026 as they head to Rutgers (1-3.0-1) to take on the Scarlet Knights at 8 pm on Saturday night.
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