Indiana football is bowl eligible for the first time since 2016. Can they continue this hot streak against Northwestern at home this weekend?
It’s been an amazing season for Indiana Football. Tom Allen has his team playing the best football they’ve ever played in his tenure as head coach, with the latest display coming in the win against Nebraska on the road a week ago.
Now 6-2, this team has their sights set even higher as they could be realistically be in line for eight or nine wins if they don’t get complacent with their bowl-eligible status.
Even with the injury to Michael Penix, against the Cornhuskers Indiana’s offense looked really good. A lot of this is due to breakout star receiver Whop Philyor and the veteran play of now backup quarterback Peyton Ramsey. Ramsey, in relief of Penix, had the game of his IU career. He threw for over 300 yards and accounted for three touchdowns–posting a quarterback rating of 152.
Quarterback play has been a huge reason for IU’s success this season as whoever has been under center has performed excellently. Assuming this trend continues against the Wildcats this weekend, IU should be able to improve to 7-2.
Northwestern enters this game just 1-6 and averaging a mere 10 points per game this season.
Considering these facts it would be easy to assume that Indiana will roll over such a team. But, Pat Fitzgerald’s team could sneak up on the Hoosiers.
Four of their losses have come against ranked teams, and another loss came against Michigan State who also beat Indiana. It’s also worth noting Northwestern only gave up 13 points to Nebraska, while the Hoosiers gave up 31.
Key Storylines
Indiana: Can the Hoosiers avoid coming out flat after a big win on the road? It’s natural for teams to perform below their ability after securing a huge win, which Indiana did a week ago. They’ll have to maintain focus, and not take this 1-6 Northwestern team lightly.
If Michael Penix is unable to go Saturday night, can Peyton Ramsey keep up his high level of play? The senior quarterback has thrown for over 1,100 yards and eight touchdowns to just three interceptions in various relief efforts this season.
Can the Hoosier defense shutdown a sputtering Northwestern offense? If Indiana can keep Northwestern around its season average in points per game, the Hoosier offense should be able to put up more than enough points to make this game pretty stress free for Indiana.
Northwestern: Will the passing game do anything? Between Aiden Smith and Hunter Johnson, the Wildcats are averaging just four yards per attempt and have just two combined passing touchdowns compared to 10 combined interceptions.
On the defensive side of the ball Northwestern is going to have to contain an Indiana offense that’s completing over 70 percent of its passes and has a running back in Stevie Scott averaging over five yards a carry. Northwestern will need to have its best defensive game of the season if it wants to give their offense a shot to win the game.
How To Watch: Game Time, T.V., Radio, More
Kickoff Time: 7:00 PM EST
Where: Bloomington, IN
TV: FS1
Radio: HoosiersTV, TuneIn
Online Stream: Fox Sports App
Betting Odds: Spread, O/U
Opening Line: Indiana -11.5
Current Line: Indiana -8.5
Opening Over/Under: 44.0
Current Over/Under: 43.5
Courtesy of the Action Network