No need for Curt Cignetti to worry about fans’ early departures.
His Indiana team looked nothing like college football’s defending national champion nor a three-touchdown favorite at home Friday, Sept. 25.
Ranked fourth in the latest US LBM Coaches Poll, Cignetti’s Indiana squad needed all four quarters Friday night to subdue pesky Northwestern in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
With their 29-23 win, the Hoosiers nudged the nation’s longest winning streak to 20 games.
The bigger question: How vulnerable is Indiana after it needed to recover an onside-kick attempt inside the final minute to secure this win?
WINNERS
Lee Beebe Jr.
A fifth-year senior running back who spent his opening three seasons at UAB and missed nearly all last season for IU with injury, Beebe was the last man standing — in Indiana’s backfield and in the end zone on the game’s biggest touchdown.
Following an early second-quarter injury to Turbo Richard, the Boston College transfer who had averaged 105 rushing yards per game in his first three appearances for Indiana, Beebe became the only proven option at running back.
He responded with 203 rushing yards, a key touchdown that helped the Hoosiers to an 22-13 lead late in the fourth quarter and a tough second and third effort to salt the game away with a first down run that allowed Indiana to bleed out the clock.
“Guy’s got a lotta heart, broke tackles, made it happen,” Cignetti said on-field after the game of Beebe.
Aidan Chiles, Luke Dehnicke and Chip Kelly
After eviscerating Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes a week earlier, Northwestern suffered its first loss of the 2026 season. Still, the Wildcats may have found the offensive formula they’ve been searching for.
With former NFL, Oregon and UCLA coach Chip Kelly calling plays, Northwestern got an efficient performance from transfer quarterback Aidan Chiles and fellow portal addition Luke Dehnicke at tight end.
Chiles carved up Indiana’s defense, completing 22 of 29 passes for 293 yards and two touchdowns. The former Oregon State and Michigan State quarterback also rushed for a score.
He developed a strong connection with Dehnicke, who hauled in seven catches for 140 yards, including a 43-yard gain.
No, Northwestern couldn’t secure the program’s first win over a top-five opponent in more than six decades. But the Wildcats found offensive answers to complement a defense that has already shown it can compete.
If that formula holds, Northwestern could become a nuisance in the Big Ten, starting with its first game at the new Ryan Field on Oct. 2 against nationally ranked Penn State.
Indiana’s defensive havoc
Indiana’s defense, led by coordinator Bryant Haines, continued to set the tone.
The Hoosiers opened the scoring when Chiles was tackled for a safety on the Wildcats’ first offensive snap.
By night’s end, Indiana’s defense had piled up seven tackles for loss, four sacks, three pass breakups and two forced fumbles. The unit also extended its scoreless streak to 10 quarters before Northwestern scored in the third quarter.
As TCU transfer quarterback Josh Hoover continues to grow more comfortable directing Indiana’s offense, the Hoosiers can lean on a defense that remains the backbone of their success. Hoover protected the football and avoided turnovers, while Indiana’s defense once again proved it can dictate games.
LOSERS
Cupcakes for all
Most importantly, Indiana remains undefeated and projects to be a heavy favorite for next week’s road trip to perennial Big Ten cellar-dweller Rutgers.
But the Hoosiers, who weren’t remotely tested in a Cignetti-mandated opening stretch of patsies, looked ill-prepared to be in a 60-minute affair so early in the season.
Glorified scrimmages in the campaign’s opening three weeks in money-game contests at home against North Texas, FCS program Howard and a slumping Western Kentucky might have boosted the confidence of some individuals but did very little to reveal what or who this group of Hoosiers is.
Laundry
Cignetti’s Indiana squad had been among college football’s least-penalized teams — both this year and since their third-year coach’s arrival before the 2024 season.
Instead, Indiana was flagged eight times for 60 yards. Among their final miscues was a defensive holding penalty inside the Hoosiers’ own 10-yard line, a flag that set up Northwestern with a 1st-and-goal situation.
Of course, Northwestern was as bad if not worse. The Wildcats had stymied the Indiana offense, pinned it deep inside its own 15 and had just gotten a third-down stop.
Instead, Matthew Smith was flagged for a personal foul face-mask call, and the extended possession evolved into the Beebe touchdown that proved decisive in the game.
Turbo Richard
Poised to star on a national stage for a nationally relevant program after toiling in obscurity at Boston College, Richard instead exited in the second quarter with the right leg injury and did not return.
Cignetti did not offer any update of note in his halftime interview.
At game’s end, Beebe said he had no idea of the status of Beebe Jr. — but he did divulge in his on-field TV interview that Richard was not present or seen in Indiana’s locker room at halftime.
With reserve running back Khobie Martin sidelined with a forearm fracture, suddenly the Hoosiers are remarkably thin at the tailback position just one-third of the way through the regular season.