Inside the Hall logo

Instant recap: Indiana 29, Northwestern 23

 

Photos from IU football vs. Northwestern on September 25, 2026 at Memorial Stadium.

Quick thoughts on IU football’s 29-23 win against Northwestern at Memorial Stadium in front of 54,695 fans:

Here are four key moments from IU’s victory in the Big Ten opener:

Hoosiers score first with a safety

After a lengthy IU drive was stopped on a 4th-and-goal with 7:25 left in the first quarter, Northwestern took possession for the first time deep inside its own territory.

On its first offensive snap of the night, Northwestern quarterback Aidan Chiles fumbled the ball and the IU defense swarmed Chiles for a safety. IU’s Daniel Ndukwe was credited with the tackle for a loss on the play.

It was a quick flip of momentum and got Indiana on the scoreboard first. The two points were the only points of the opening quarter.

Josh Hoover connects with Nick Marsh for IU’s first touchdown

It took a little longer than Curt Cignetti hoped, but the Hoosiers broke through with their first touchdown of the night with just over five minutes left in the second quarter.

Josh Hoover completed an eight-yard touchdown pass to Nick Marsh to complete a seven-play, 90-yard drive.

The touchdown and subsequent extra point from Nico Radicic gave the Hoosiers a 12-0 lead. It was the third touchdown reception of the season for Marsh and Hoover’s 11th touchdown pass.

Beebe Jr.’s touchdown run pushes lead back to two possessions

After Northwestern outscored Indiana 13-3 to open the second half to make it a 15-13 game, the Hoosiers needed an answer.

The Hoosiers got it from running back Lee Beebe Jr., who was the driving force on IU’s 10-play touchdown drive.

Beebe Jr., forced to take every carry after Turbo Richard was sidelined with an injury in the first half, carried the ball the last five plays of the drive, including a 39-yard run to the Northwestern 9-yard line. From there, Beebe Jr. had runs of four and five yards to push the lead back to two possessions at 22-13 with 9:35 to play.

Beebe Jr. has the answer … again

Northwestern, to its credit, wouldn’t go away. The Wildcats marched right back down the field and answered IU’s drive with another touchdown to make it 22-20. It was the third touchdown of the half for Northwestern.

Once IU got the ball back, it only took Beebe Jr. one play to put the Hoosiers back into the red zone. On the first play of IU’s drive, he broke off a 70-yard run to the Northwestern five-yard line.

On its sixth play inside the five-yard line, Hoover kept it and ran to the outside untouched to make it a 29-20 lead for IU with 1:56 remaining.

Offensive standouts

Beebe Jr. was the story for the Hoosiers. He had 24 carries for 203 yards and a touchdown. It was the most rushing yards for an IU running back since Stevie Scott had 204 against Virginia in September of 2018.

Hoover completed 19 of his 29 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown. Charlie Becker had seven catches for 98 yards and Marsh finished with five catches for 52 yards.

Defensive standouts

Stephen Daley, Byron Baldwin Jr. and Tobi Osunsanmi each had a sack and Preston Zachman led IU with nine tackles. Daley also had two quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles. Osunsanmi had two tackles for a loss, Daley had one, Baldwin Jr. had one, and Mario Landino did as well.

What’s next for the Hoosiers

Indiana hits the road and will play Rutgers next Saturday night in Piscataway. The Scarlet Knights are now 1-3 after beating Howard earlier tonight, 58-7. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on BTN.

See More: Football