Indiana opens Big Ten play on Friday night with a Northwestern team that has already made noise this season, and the matchup arrives with a little more bite than a typical early conference date. ESPN Analytics gives the Hoosiers an 89.5% chance to win, but this is still the toughest test Curt Cignetti’s team has faced so far.
Northwestern comes in after a 41-7 win over Colorado and after a seven-win season and bowl victory a year ago. Indiana did not play the Wildcats last season, but Cignetti saw them in his first year on the job and survived a 41-24 win at Northwestern’s temporary stadium on Lake Michigan. The setting is better for Indiana this time, but the opponent is better too.
Aidan Chiles is one of the main reasons this game has real intrigue. He has opened the year in strong form, completing 67.4% of his passes for 11.2 yards per completion and four touchdowns through two games. His quarterback rating of 190.2 is the best he has posted at this point in his career.
Indiana has had some success against Chiles before, holding him to two passing touchdowns and two interceptions across the last two seasons. The Hoosiers have also kept him out of the end zone as a runner, though he did rush for 48 yards on eight carries last year.
That history should give Bryant Haines and his defense some confidence, but this matchup comes almost a month earlier on the calendar than either of the last two, and Chiles has shown he can take advantage before a defense has fully settled in. Indiana’s defense has had its shaky moments through three wins, so this will be a serious stress test.
The game should also start sorting out Indiana’s depth chart. The early-season games offered hints, but a Big Ten opponent should give a clearer picture of who the staff trusts moving forward.
Cornerback A.J. Harris is listed as doubtful, which makes his missed time over the last two weeks look more like a real issue than a short-term precaution.
Cignetti has also said Harris has not been available for practice much since transferring to Indiana, so his role later in the year could be limited.
There’s also the situation involving Kellan Wyatt and Stephen Daley, who were recently declared eligible through a preliminary injunction. The NCAA has filed an emergency motion seeking to stay that injunction within 24 hours. If they stay eligible, how Indiana handles the line will be worth watching.
Turnovers may decide the whole thing. Northwestern has a plus-four turnover margin through two games, and Indiana has been a little loose with the ball despite staying unbeaten. The Hoosiers have not thrown an interception or lost a fumble, but they have put the ball on the ground four times, including once last week against a Western Kentucky defense that has been good at forcing fumbles.
So far, Indiana has been able to absorb those mistakes because it has controlled games physically. That kind of margin shrinks against a better opponent.
The same pressure applies to the passing game, where opposing defenses have not picked off Josh Hoover yet, but he has made a few decisions that stronger teams could have turned into turnovers. Northwestern has that kind of chance on Friday.
In Other News...
Indiana Win Brings Two Injury Worries Hoosier Fans Will Be Watching
Indianas win over Northwestern came with an unwelcome dose of concern, as the Hoosiers saw running back Turbo Richard leave in the first half and never return. Head coach Curt Cignetti addressed Richards injury and the circumstances surrounding the tackle afterward, adding a small postgame cloud to what should have been a clean result.
Rolijah Hardy added to the uneasy feeling later in the game when the starting linebacker went down as well, though he was able to walk off the field on his own. Jeff Utzinger stepped in for Hardy, and Indiana will now wait to see whether either injury lingers beyond a victory that otherwise moved the team forward. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Escapes To 4-0 With A Bigger Problem Ahead
Indianas Big Ten opener delivered the kind of result that keeps an undefeated start intact and, for stretches, showed why this team has been able to survive early tests. The defense set the tone against Northwestern, holding the Wildcats to negative rushing yards in the first half, while quarterback Josh Hoover steadied things after some early struggles and helped guide the scoring drives that carried Indiana to a 29-23 win and a 4-0 record.
The bigger issue now is what the victory may have cost. Injuries to running backs Turbo Richard and Khobie Martin surfaced as the game went on, and in a conference stretch where depth matters almost as much as momentum, Indiana will need answers quickly if it wants the start to mean more than just a strong September. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Survived A Real Big Ten Test After A Costly Scare
Indiana had to work for every bit of this one at Memorial Stadium, where Northwestern pushed the Hoosiers far harder than the final margin might suggest. The 29-23 win came with a heavy dose of urgency after Turbo Richard left the game injured, forcing Indiana to lean even more on Lee Beebe Jr., who responded with 203 rushing yards and a touchdown to keep the offense moving.
Josh Hoover eventually delivered the play that settled it, scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a quarterback run late in the game. For Indiana, the bigger concern may be what came before that final push, because surviving a Big Ten test is one thing, but doing it while watching an important back exit in the middle of the fight changes the conversation heading into what comes next. [Read more 🡒]