The Indiana Hoosiers picked up a hard-fought 29-23 win over Northwestern on Friday night. The victory moved Indiana to 4-0 on the young season and extended its winning streak to 20 games.
For the first time this season, the Hoosiers were tested and faced plenty of resistance. Northwestern put up a solid fight, and had Indiana on upset alert all throughout the game. The Hoosiers made a handful of mistakes and were often undisciplined, but they pulled things together in the 4th quarter to earn a 1-0 start to Big Ten play.
Throughout the course of the game, three winners and a pair of losers became clear:
Winners
1. Lee Beebe Jr.
The Hoosiers don't win that game without Lee Beebe Jr. The fifth-year senior became Indiana's go-to running back with Khobie Martin unavailable and Turbo Richard going down with a lower body injury in the 1st quarter. Beebe made the most of his opportunity, as he racked up 203 rushing yards and an impressive 8.5 yards per carry. Whenever the Hoosier offense needed a boost, Beebe came through. He ripped off several long runs in the second half, which included a 70-yarder late in the 4th quarter that setup a crucial Indiana touchdown to make it a 29-20 game. Martin is still slated to be out a few more weeks, while no immediate updates were made available on Richard after the game. At this time, Beebe should be expected to take on a leading role in Indiana's backfield.
2. Charlie Becker
In our keys to the game, we mentioned that Charlie Becker needed to keep thriving against tougher competition. That's exactly what he did. Becker led the Hoosiers with 7 catches for 98 yards, and continued to show great chemistry with Josh Hoover. Becker was a reliable target who came down with several contested catches down the field, and some of Hoover's back-shoulder throws to Becker were extremely reminiscent of Fernando Mendoza. Seeing the Hoover-Becker connection continuing to shine is a great sign of what could be in store for the rest of the season. In total, Becker is now up to 19 catches for 370 yards and 6 touchdowns.
3. Indiana's ability to dig deep when it mattered most
From the first snap(s) of the game, Indiana was often sloppy and undisciplined. That is very unlike a Curt Cignetti-led Hoosier team. Indiana committed 8 penalties for 60 yards, which loomed large throughout the course of this game. But when it mattered most, IU found a way to dig deep and make the plays necessary to win. Several key 4th quarter plays ultimately swung the game in Indiana's favor, and kept the Wildcats from pulling off a huge upset. There is still plenty of work to do, but seeing the Hoosiers dig deep during their biggest adversity of the young season was an encouraging development.
Losers
1. Indiana's passing defense
The Hoosier defense entered this contest coming off back-to-back shutouts, and for a while, it looked like they may be on their way to a third consecutive shutout. Northwestern was held scoreless in the first half, but broke through in a major way in the second half. Indiana's rushing defense was stout, holding Northwestern to a measly 32 rushing yards and 1.2 yards per rush. But the passing defense was gutted a decent amount in the second half, which had Hoosier fans sweating. But credit where credit is due: Northwestern QB Aidan Chiles played a great game. He had some wild moments, but in the second half he made some incredible throws and runs with his legs. In total, he completed 22 of his 29 pass attempts for 293 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also added a rushing score.
2. Indiana's red zone inefficiency
Coming into this game, Northwestern had allowed just a single touchdown on 8 red zone trips from its opponents. The Wildcats have a bend but don't break defensive mentality, and that was on full display on Friday night in Bloomington. Indiana was stuffed on 4th down at the goal line on its opening drive, and had to work for every yard in the red zone all throughout the game. Most notably, the Hoosiers needed and a Northwestern penalty and 6 total plays from inside the 5-yard line before Josh Hoover sealed the deal with a rushing touchdown in the closing minutes. Finding more red zone efficiency is sure to be a key point of emphasis moving forward.
Add us as a preferred source on Google