Coming off a narrow Week 3 victory over Northwestern, No. 6 Indiana football decisively beat Rutgers 47-15 to win its first road contest of the season Saturday night at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey.
After forcing a punt on Rutgers’ opening possession, redshirt senior quarterback Josh Hoover quickly guided the Hoosiers down the field. In under four minutes of game time, Indiana covered 85 yards. The Cream and Crimson moved the chains on four straight plays before Hoover found junior wide receiver Charlie Becker in the end zone for a 9-yard score.
Hoover continued the hot start on Indiana’s second possession, finding junior wide receiver Nick Marsh for a 27-yard gain on the first play of the drive. The Hoosiers continued to gash Rutgers’ shorthanded secondary, picking up 14 and 30-yard gains as they moved downfield.
Following his 10th-straight completion to start the game, Hoover couldn’t connect with Marsh in the end zone and was sacked on third down. Redshirt junior kicker Nico Radicic drilled a 39-yard field goal to extend the lead to 10 points in the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, Rutgers junior wide receiver KJ Duff burned the Indiana secondary and laid out for a diving 41-yard catch to set the Scarlet Knights up in Hoosier territory.
On the ensuing set of downs, junior linebacker Rolijah Hardy wrapped up Rutgers junior running back Antwan Raymond in the flat to set up third and long. Scarlet Knights senior quarterback Dylan Lonergan launched the ball into the end zone toward Duff, but Indiana sophomore defensive back Jaylen Bell and senior defensive back Amare Ferrell broke up the potential touchdown.
Redshirt senior defensive lineman Tobi Osunsanmi pulled Raymond away from the first-down marker on fourth down to stop Rutgers’ drive and win possession for the Hoosiers.
Just a play later, junior running back Turbo Richard exploded up the field for 41 yards, then 23 more on the next play. After a brief Rutgers goal line stand, Hoover found sophomore wide receiver Davion Chandler, who hauled in a physical catch for a 2-yard TD.
On another Rutgers fourth down, Osunsanmi came off the edge to pull Lonergan away from the line to gain on a quarterback sneak. The stop set up Indiana at the Rutgers 34-yard line. It took just three plays for Richard to find the end zone on a 14-yard carry.
Down 23-0 in the second quarter, Rutgers utilized multiple quarterbacks in a three-and-out series with Lonergan in the medical tent. Junior quarterback AJ Surace scrambled for two yards, and sophomore quarterback Sean Ashenfelder was stopped in the backfield by redshirt senior defensive lineman Joe Hjelle. On third down, Ferrell nearly picked off Surace.
After Chandler brought in a first-down catch, Richard raced 57 yards to the red zone. But Radicic — who’d missed his first extra point in 170 attempts earlier in the game — sent a 22-yard field goal attempt wide left to keep the score at 23-0.
On Rutgers’ final possession of the half, Osunsanmi and fifth-year senior defensive lineman Stephen Daley both notched sacks to run out the clock on the Scarlet Knights’ drive and enter halftime with a 23-point lead.
Through 30 minutes of action, Indiana outgained Rutgers 349 yards to 118. The Cream and Crimson averaged 10 yards per play.
The first drive of the second half was all Becker. The 6-foot-4 wideout hauled in 13 and 48-yard catches before Marsh finished the drive with a 12-yard touchdown catch.
Becker and redshirt senior running back Lee Beebe Jr. added touchdowns while Daley and Osunsanmi nabbed tackles for loss in the second half. Rutgers broke through with two scoring drives, but Indiana cruised to a 47-15 victory.
Hoover ended the night with 251 yards and four touchdowns through the air. The Hoosiers became the first Big Ten team in 31 years to have two running backs and two receivers tally 100 yards.
Richard rushed for 204 yards and Beebe added another 122. Becker hauled in 107 receiving yards and Marsh finished with 120. Osunsanmi and Daley led the defense with two tackles for loss each.
The Cream and Crimson outgained the Scarlet Knights by 339 yards with a season-high 593-yard total. The mark is the highest single-game total for any matchup with a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent since head coach Curt Cignetti was hired ahead of the 2024 season.
With one road victory on the season, Indiana will travel to face Nebraska on Oct. 10 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Follow reporters Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and Nathan Shriberg (@NShriberg and naashri@iu.edu) and columnist Elakai Anela (@elakai_anela and eanela@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
