The Indiana Hoosiers are set to begin Big Ten conference play with a home matchup against the Northwestern Wildcats on Friday night at Memorial Stadium. The Hoosiers rolled to a trio of non-conference wins over North Texas, Howard, and Western Kentucky, but Big Ten play will undoubtedly provide more challenges for Curt Cignetti and company. But Indiana football fans have plenty of faith in Cignetti, as he has just a single Big Ten loss during his tenure at Indiana so far.
Despite past success against him, Aidan Chiles presents a different challenge for Indiana
Unfortunately, Indiana is already dealing with some injuries early on in 2026. RB Khobie Martin suffered a broken forearm in Week 1, and will be out for at least a few more weeks. K Nico Radicic has missed Indiana's last two games, and his status moving forward remains to be seen. Injuries are an unfortunate part of football, and Cignetti and his coaching staff have already had to make some early depth chart adjustments.
Indiana vs Northwestern injury report
Both the Hoosiers and Wildcats are dealing with their fair share of injuries entering this Friday night contest. However, Northwestern's injury list is far longer, meaning that the Wildcats' deoth could be seriously tested in this Big Ten opening game for both teams. Here is a closer look at the injury report for each team.
Indiana Football injury report
Three Hoosiers have already been ruled out for Friday's matchup against Northwestern.
OUT:
DB Carson Williams
WR Lebron Bond
RB Khobie Martin
DOUBTFUL:
CB A.J. Harris
QUESTIONABLE:
K Nico Radicic
It's worth mentioning that both Kellan Wyatt and Stephen Daley were listed as questionable on Tuesday's Big Ten availability report. However, that stemmed from their eligibility battle rather than injury. Both have since been ruled eligible to play, so as long as they are healthy, they won't appear on any further injury reports heading into Week 4.
Northwestern Football injury report
As you can see below, Northwestern's injury report for Week 4 is far longer than Indiana's.
OUT:
DB Seth Valeri
LB Max Mohring
LB Jason Reynolds II
LB Nigel Glover
DL Callen Campbell
LB Qayvier Johnson
OL David Anchondo
OL Ezomo Oratokhai
OL Jacob Miller
TE Chris Petrucci
TE Tom McGlinchey
DL Migo Jackson
DL Glory Stephen-Wangboje
DL Troy Regovich
DOUBTFUL:
WR Hayden Eligon II
DB Braden Turner
WR Chase Farrell
Northwestern's depth will be tested on Friday night against Indiana
Northwestern was already behind the 8-ball heading into this matchup. They are facing the defending National Champions on the road, and with an 8 p.m. ET kick-off, the home crowd at Memorial Stadium is sure to create a raucous environment.
The Wildcats are listed as 21-point underdogs by professional oddsmakers, signaling that they are expected to struggle early and often. Already having over a dozen players ruled out could only make things more difficult for David Braun and company.
Depth is one of the most valuable aspects of a college football roster, and Northwestern's will be tested on Friday night. With Indiana sitting at No. 5 in the country, Northwestern will have little margin for error against a Hoosiers team that has already shown it can put points on the board. The Hoosier defense has also posted back-to-back shutouts. No matter how you slice it, the Wildcats figure to have their hands full.
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