No. 5 Indiana fought off a strong push from Northwestern to claim a 20th straight win Friday night in Bloomington.
Northwestern quarterback Aidan Chiles broke Indiana’s shutout streak in the second half by leading his team on three consecutive touchdown drives before Josh Hoover helped the Hoosiers close out the win.
Here’s a look at the top offensive performers from Friday night’s matchup at Memorial Stadium.
Northwestern’s defense started out the game strong by stopping Indiana’s first drive at the goal line.
A flubbed quarterback-center exchange in Northwestern’s endzone shortly afterward allowed Indiana to respond with a safety.
The crowd at Memorial Stadium expressed their disapproval of the lack of penalty called on a play that left running back Turbo Richard being helped off the field while putting no weight on one leg.
Indiana started pulling ahead in the second quarter with a 43-yard field goal, followed by a touchdown drive on which Hoover went 6-for-6 before finding Nick Marsh in the end zone.
Northwestern’s final drive of the first half fell apart after Chiles lost 21 yards on a play that ended with him being called for intentional grounding.
Indiana went into the third quarter having tied the longest shutout streak of the decade by allowing no points in 11 consecutive quarters, per ESPN Insights.
Northwestern ended that streak when Chiles capped off his team’s first trip to the end zone with a touchdown pass to Griffin Wilde.
Hoover marched Indiana downfield on a subsequent drive highlighted by a deep pass to Charlie Becker. He was unable to later find Becker in the end zone as the Hoosiers settled for a field goal.
Northwestern made the home team pay for the four points left on the table when Chiles cut Indiana’s lead to two points early in the fourth quarter by finding Wilde in the endzone.
Lee Beebe Jr. helped the Hoosiers climb back out to a multi-score lead by running in a touchdown before Chiles recorded a rushing touchdown of his own to get Northwestern back within two points.
Northwestern couldn’t hold the gap close for long. Beebe started off Indiana’s next drive with a 70-yard run before Hoover finished it off with a touchdown pass.
Northwestern got one final chance to come back with an opportunity to recover a late onside kick only to see Indiana end up with the ball.
Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers will now hope to get positive injury news regarding Richard before hitting the road next weekend for a Saturday matchup at Rutgers.
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