It was a stress free and enjoyable win for Indiana Saturday night against Rutgers. A statement was made by the Hoosiers, and it is clear they came out with an edge after an uninspiring performance against a sneaky good Northwestern squad.

Offense

The offense was pretty much perfect throughout the first half. Running backs Turbo Richard and Lee Beebe Jr. ran for 204 and 122 yards apiece, marking the second consecutive week Indiana has had a 200 yard rusher. Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh also both had over 100 yards, with 120, and 107 respectively. This marked the first time in a Big Ten game that a team had two 100 yard running backs and two 100 yard receivers in the same game, going back to at least 1995. Josh Hoover got into a rhythm early, which helped his accuracy on some intermediate and deep throws. Getting Hoover off to a 10-10 start set the tone for the rest of the game. Rutgers secondary is not a force, but the Hoosiers unlocked something by giving Hoover a chance to loosen up during the early part of the game. 

Defense

For the second consecutive week, the defense pitched a shutout in the first half, before giving up multiple scores in the second. Stephen Daley had 2 sacks, and the Indiana rush defense was once again stout. The secondary gave up a few big plays to receivers down the field, but that is going to happen in a blowout game late in the second half. 

Head coach Curt Cignetti was unfazed. 

“They throw, guy’s a great player. Made a great catch. Coverage was tight,” Cignetti said. 

Overall, the defense looked much improved from a week ago, which is encouraging going into a big matchup next week at Nebraska.

Special Teams

It was not a great day for Nico Radicic to say the least. He missed the first extra point of his career, and also missed a 22-yard field goal. He was 173-173 before he missed the extra point, and the 22 yarder was also only the third field goal miss in his career.

 “It must have been something with the moon and the stars. I don’t know. Aquarius,” Cignetti said. 

Cignetti has not lost any confidence in his kicker, so there is little to worry about on this front. 

Overall, this was the type of win that is customary for Cignetti at Indiana against inferior competition. No nonsense, physical, dominant. Indiana must build on this momentum as they enter the toughest three game stretch on their schedule.