Lee Beebe Jr. turned Friday night into a grind for No. 5 Indiana, and the Hoosiers needed every one of his 203 rushing yards to survive Northwestern 29-23 in Bloomington, Ind.
Beebe’s biggest burst came at the perfect time. His 70-yard run set up Josh Hoover’s 1-yard touchdown with 1:56 remaining, giving Indiana the breathing room it desperately needed after a night full of pressure.
The defending national champions improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the Big Ten, stretching the Football Bowl Subdivision’s longest active winning streak to 20 games. Indiana also pushed its home winning streak to 19, though this one was anything but comfortable.
Northwestern kept poking at the Hoosiers all night and had a real chance to tie it early in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats got two tries at the end zone after a pass-interference call on their first 2-point attempt, but Indiana stopped quarterback Aidan Chiles on a designed run and kept the lead intact.
That stop mattered because the game still had plenty of swing left. After a facemask penalty on third-and-19 gave Indiana a first down, Beebe broke free for 39 yards and later finished the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run with 9:39 left to make it a two-score game. Northwestern answered again, trimming the margin to 22-20, but Beebe’s 70-yard sprint to the Wildcats’ 5-yard line set up Hoover’s clinching score six plays later.
Northwestern refused to go quietly. Jackson Kleather drilled a 42-yard field goal with 58 seconds left to pull the Wildcats within one score, but they couldn’t recover the onside kick.
Hoover finished 19 of 29 for 201 yards and a touchdown. Charlie Becker caught seven passes for 98 yards. Beebe’s huge night doubled as his second 100-yard game of the season after Turbo Richard left in the first half with a lower right leg injury.
Chiles was sharp in defeat, going 22 of 29 for 293 yards and two passing touchdowns while also running for a score.
The first half belonged to Indiana’s defense. Northwestern opened with a goal-line stand, but then Chiles fumbled the snap on the Wildcats’ first offensive play and Rolijah Hardy tackled him in the end zone for a safety. Nico Radicic added a 43-yard field goal early in the second quarter, and Nick Marsh hauled in an 8-yard touchdown catch with 5:04 left before halftime to make it 12-0.
That was all Indiana could produce before the break, but it was enough to hold a Northwestern offense to 51 total yards and minus-5 rushing yards in the half.
For Northwestern, the second-half turnaround came after coordinator Chip Kelly let Chiles attack more freely. It brought the Wildcats back into the game, but the failed 2-point conversion and the inability to get off the field late ended the comeback.
For Indiana, the close call may linger. The Hoosiers were already bumped down a spot in the AP poll last week after a 38-0 win over Western Kentucky, and this was the most exposed their defense has looked in more than a year. Whether that was just a blip will be the next question.
Northwestern now turns to another major challenge next Saturday, when it hosts No. 13 Penn State.
Indiana’s first road game of the season comes next Saturday at winless Rutgers.
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 🡒]