Indiana’s football team kept its perfect start intact Friday night, but it had to work a lot harder than the final score suggested.
The Hoosiers opened Big Ten play against Northwestern at Memorial Stadium and came away with a 29-23 win in front of a sold-out crowd. Indiana was up 12-0 at halftime after Northwestern quarterback Josh Hoover missed a number of early throws, but the game changed fast after the break.
The Hoosier offense found another gear in the final 30 minutes, while the secondary struggled as Aidan Chiles picked apart the defense. Indiana still found a way to close it out, getting help from a facemask penalty, RB Lee Beebe Jr., and an early safety.
With the victory, IU moved to 4-0.
After the game, Curt Cignetti addressed the media, Inside the Hall posted a photo gallery, and Ian Plaskoff and Zach Horowitz each weighed in with coverage, including Horowitz’s five takeaways from the win.
The rest of the Big Ten delivered plenty of chaos, too. The day’s wildest finish came when Iowa beat Michigan on a long touchdown on the final play.
Wisconsin also rallied from a massive deficit to knock off Penn State, while Oregon outscored USC in a high-powered shootout. Elsewhere, Ohio State rolled past Illinois, UCLA handled Maryland, Nebraska beat Michigan State comfortably, and Notre Dame took care of Purdue in a matchup between Indiana programs.
There was also movement on the eligibility front at IU. A Monroe County judge issued a preliminary injunction that lets 97 athletes fighting for a fifth year play for now, after they had been ruled ineligible against Western Kentucky. That includes Stephen Daley and Kellan Wyatt, along with volleyball’s Avry Tatum, who returned to action Saturday night, and basketball’s Sam Alexis, whose season has not begun.
Indiana basketball will give fans an early look this week. The Hoosiers are set to host a scrimmage Friday at 6 p.m.
ET, with doors opening at 4:30 p.m. ET.
The event is free, though it will not have the pageantry of Hoosier Hysteria.
On the podcast side, Podcast on the Brink returned with Zach Horowitz discussing the eligibility situation involving Daley and Wyatt, plus football’s strong start and the upcoming basketball season. The Back Home Network also had several shows on the air during the week.
Elsewhere in the Hoosier Roundup, No. 18 IU volleyball opened conference play with wins over UCLA and Maryland.
No. 2 men’s soccer beat Penn State. No. 18 field hockey upset No.
13 Michigan before falling to No. 2 Iowa.
Women’s soccer dropped matches to Wisconsin and Minnesota.
In Other News...
Indiana May Have Avoided A Bigger Problem Before Rutgers
Indiana got a little breathing room on the injury front as it turns its attention to Rutgers on Saturday night. Curt Cignetti said running back Turbo Richard and linebacker Rolijah Hardy, both hurt in the win over Northwestern, are expected to be available, easing some concern after both players left the game with injuries and were labeled day-to-day.
Richards lower leg and ankle issue had the potential to become a real complication for an offense that needs its depth intact, while Hardys exit after a tackle attempt briefly raised alarms on the defensive side. For a Hoosiers team heading into a primetime matchup, getting both back in the mix would help keep the rotation steady and prevent one game from turning into a bigger problem. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Defense Has A New Standout And A Secondary Twist
Indianas win over Northwestern came with the kind of defensive backbone the Hoosiers have been looking for, and Stephen Daley was right in the middle of it. In limited snaps, he kept showing up around the ball with multiple pressures, tackles and a forced fumble, giving Indiana a disruptive edge that helped shape the 29-23 result. The broader snap counts and grades painted a fuller picture of a defense that had some strong individual work to lean on even while the unit sorted through a few uneven stretches.
The secondary was the other part worth watching, because the review of the game suggested more than one player made a case for a bigger role moving forward. Indiana got useful contributions across the back end, but the grades also pointed to a few spots where the coverage still has room to tighten up. For a team trying to build on a hard-fought conference win, that mix of emergence and uncertainty is exactly the kind of thing that can define what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Keeps Winning But AP Voters Still Arent Buying In
Indianas latest result looked like the kind of win that usually steadies a poll position, if not lifts it. The Hoosiers survived Northwestern 29-23 to stretch their winning streak to 20 games, stay unbeaten at 4-0 and keep adding to a run that has made Memorial Stadium feel like a weekly obstacle course for visiting Big Ten teams.
Still, the AP voters were not moved much. Indiana dropped one spot to No. 6 in the latest poll despite earning a first-place vote, the second straight week the Hoosiers have slid after a close conference opener. Under Curt Cignetti, the program has banked 19 straight home wins and taken 18 of its last 19 Big Ten games, but the rankings stubbornly remain one of the few places where the respect has not quite caught up. [Read more 🡒]