BLOOMINGTON — The longest win streak (19 games) in the FBS is still intact, but Northwestern made Indiana footballl work for it.
The No. 4 Hoosiers (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) closed out a 29-23 victory on Friday night after the Wildcats (2-1, 0-1) came storming back in the second half thanks to an impressive performance from quarterback Aidan Chiles.
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Chiles, who allowed a safety by dropping a snap on the first play of the game, put a mistake-filled first half performance in the rear-view mirror to make a sold out crowd at Memorial Stadium sweat out a victory. David Braun’s team was a 2-point conversion away from evening the score, but Lee Beebe Jr.‘s monster fourth quarter helped the Hoosiers pull through.
Here’s a report card for Friday’s win.
Josh Hoover, IU offense look out of sync
OFFENSE: C-
Indiana‘s offense has felt like Jekyll and Hyde far too often this season. The run game is boom or bust, with long droughts in between explosive plays. Josh Hoover looks out of sync with his receivers one moment to throwing dimes the next. He reeled off six straight completions on consecutive plays on a scoring drive in the second quarter, but that version of Hoover only made a cameo on Friday night. While IU’s offense put together a pair of critical scoring drives in the fourth quarter, Northwestern bailed the Hoosiers out with penalties both times.
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Northwestern finds way to frustrate IU defense
DEFENSE: C+
In the first half, Indiana‘s defense pitched another shutout and even outscored Northwestern by coming through with a safety. The Hoosiers bullied the Wildcats up front and held them to 51 total yards going into halftime. It initially looked like more of the same in the third quarter until Northwestern quarterback Chiles converted a third-and-13 on a scramble. The unlikely conversion gave the Wildcats life with Chiles making it a one possession game by throwing a 4-yard touchdown to Griffin Wilde on fourth down. He got into a rhythm after that — and finally got a bit of time to throw — with Chip Kelly’s patented no-huddle offense putting pressure on Indiana’s pass defense.
Rewind: IU football pushed to brink by Northwestern
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Special teams remains an issue for IU
SPECIAL TEAMS: B-
Nico Radicic, who returned to the lineup after missing two games with a rib, went 2 of 2 on field goal attempts. Having one of the most consistent kickers in the FBS is a nice weapon to have on special teams. The one negative came when Beebe muffed a kick return in the third quarter that IU was able to recover. Two weeks ago, Tyler Morris lost his punt return job when he had issues fielding the ball. The ball will stand out since Cignetti talked about the importance of ball security on special teams throughout the week.
What we know: Indiana football starting running back exits with injury vs Northwestern
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PLAYER OF THE GAME: Lee Beebe Jr.
Beebe saved IU’s undefeated season.
He had a career-high in attempts and rushing yards to rescue a listless offense in the final 15 minutes. It started with a 38-yard gain in the third quarter that gave IU the burst of energy it needed. He followed that up with a 4-yard touchdown on a run that looked like it would be stopped for no gain.
Beebe bounced to the outside and came through with a 4-yard score to make it a two-possession game. Beebe topped 100 yards for the second time this season on a night where he had to carry much of the workload himself with Turbo Richard going down with an injury.
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After Northwestern answered with a score, he opened IU’s ensuing possession with a 70-yard gain to get the offense right back into the red zone.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana survives Northwestern’s pressure, but gets teachable moments
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