Lee Beebe Jr. ran for 203 yards and a touchdown and Josh Hoover passed and rushed for a score, leading No. 5 Indiana to a 29-23 victory against Northwestern on Friday in Bloomington, Ind.
Reigning national champion Indiana (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) opened its conference title defense by edging resilient Northwestern (2-1, 0-1). The Hoosiers relied heavily on Beebe after running back Turbo Richard sustained an apparent lower-body injury in the second quarter.
Beebe wound up getting 24 carries. His 70-yard spurt after the Wildcats drew to within two points with 5:10 left set up Hoover’s game-sealing 1-yard TD run with 1:56 to go.
Jackson Kleather kicked a 42-yard field goal for Northwestern with 58 seconds left, but the Hoosiers recovered the ensuing onside kick.
Wildcats quarterback Aidan Chiles completed 22 of 29 passes for 293 yards and two touchdowns, both to Griffin Wilde, and also rushed for a score. Chiles’ 8-yard scoring pass to Wilde on the first play of the fourth quarter brought the Wildcats within 15-13, but Amare Ferrell stopped Chiles on a two-point conversion attempt that would have tied the game.
Beebe capped the ensuing possession with a 4-yard touchdown run, but the Wildcats answered with Chiles’ 7-yard touchdown run.
Hoover connected on 19 of 29 passes for 201 yards. Teammate Charlie Becker had seven receptions for 98 yards.
Luke Dehnicke caught seven passes for 140 yards to spark Northwestern.
The Hoosiers outgained the Wildcats 243-51 in total yards before halftime and held the ball for about nine more minutes but only had a 12-0 lead for their efforts.
Indiana recorded a safety to open the scoring with 7:20 left in the first quarter when Chiles was tackled in the end zone after a fumbled snap. Nico Radicic kicked a 43-yard field goal to make it 5-0 early in the second quarter and later had a 22-yarder.
Richard started the game with a 33-yard run but left with an injury in the second quarter after being tackled out of bounds. He attempted to get up but went right back down to the turf.
Hoover helped the Hoosiers regroup before halftime. He went 6-for-6 on a seven-play, 90-yard drive and hit Nick Marsh for an 8-yard score with 5:04 to go in the second quarter.
Northwestern eclipsed its first-half yardage total on its second drive of the third quarter. Chiles found Wilde for a 4-yard touchdown with 6:34 left in the period to cap a 10-play, 75-yard drive that got the Wildcats on the board.
Indiana stretched its series winning streak to three games and has won 20 in a row overall.
