In its ninth straight game to open the 2026 season, IU football appeared to hit the tipping point on Saturday from an injury standpoint.
The Hoosiers entered the Minnesota game without edge rusher Kellan Wyatt and receiver Davion Chandler, who were both declared out ahead of the contest.
The trouble on Saturday started before the opening kickoff.
Starting linebacker Rolijah Hardy suffered a non-contact injury during pregame warmups.
“That was like a shock,” IU coach Curt Cignetti said postgame. “Something popped in his back in pregame. They tried to take care of him, but didn’t work. That was like a 20-minute-before-kickoff adjustment we had to make.”
Hardy stayed in uniform throughout the game. He had a massage tool in his hand, attempting to work out the injury. But he never saw the field. True freshman Jacob Savage got his first career start and played well. He had four tackles, a tackle for loss and two pass breakups. Jeff Utzinger stepped into Savage’s third linebacker role against 12 personnel. He had two tackles and a tackle for loss.
Quarterback Josh Hoover was hit hard on a blind side hit by a Minnesota player following a tipped-pass interception. That came in the final seconds of the first half. Hoover stayed down after the hit for a while. The play was ostensibly why Grant Wilson replaced Hoover in the second half, although Cignetti never clarified that. Hoover stayed on the sideline in the second half. He had his helmet in his hand, but that may have been just so he could listen to the play calls.
Running back Turbo Richard gained 15 yards on Indiana’s opening play of the second half. He would not get a carry the rest of the game. According to the CBS broadcast, Richard went to the locker room after the play and had X-rays taken on his shoulder.
Richard did field Minnesota’s final kickoff. It’s not clear if there was ever any intent to return that kick, but at the very least it was an encouraging sign Richard was allowed on the field.
With Richard out, Khobie Martin got his first carries of the season after suffering a broken arm in week one. Martin is playing with a large pad on his right forearm. Lee Beebe, Jr. had a solid game with 15 carries for 84 yards.
Starting cornerback A.J. Harris was injured on Minnesota’s final drive of regulation while attempting to get off a block. He right ankle was rolled up when Mario Landino fell on it. Harris appeared to be in serious pain but was able to walk off the field — with a limp — under his own power.
With Harris out, second-year cornerback Jaylen Bell was on the field — along with Savage and Utzinger — as the Hoosiers got a stop in overtime to win the game.
The Hoosiers will now get a much needed bye week before facing USC in Bloomington on Nov. 14.
“I’m really excited for this week,” wideout Charlie Becker said. “Really, really excited. I think we’ve got a lot of guys that are going to benefit from this, and then on to USC.”
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