EVANSTON, Ill. — Indiana moved to 6-0 and reached bowl eligibility with a 41-24 win at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Below are three quick reasons why IU won the game, along with highlights and final stats.
Indiana (6-0) will have a week off and then face Nebraska on Oct. 19 in Bloomington.
Stay tuned to The Daily Hoosier for more coverage of the game.
THREE REASONS WHY INDIANA WON
1. Rourke is surgical. Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke was nearly flawless in windy conditions against a respectable defense. The veteran signal-caller completed 25-of-33 passes for 380 yards and 3 touchdowns. Rourke tortured Northwestern with run-pass option reads, and he was also effective passing on the move. He wasn’t sacked on the afternoon.
2. Balanced offense once again, line is solid. Northwestern couldn’t focus on trying to limit IU’s passing game because the Hoosiers were also effective running the football. IU running backs carried it 32 times for 158 yards and two more scores. The offensive line consistently generated push and creating running lanes. Indiana only had two plays for a loss for the game before taking a knee on the final snaps.
3. Overcoming defensive adversity. Indiana’s defense wasn’t sharp throughout much of the game. They gave up four scoring drives over a span of five drives from early in the second quarter into the fourth. Starting linebacker Jailin Walker left the game in the first half with an injury, and the Hoosiers struggled to contain the quarterback run. They lost track of receivers for big plays on multiple occasions, and at times were unable to generate a pass rush. But despite some mistakes, IU still held Northwestern to 336 yards and 16 first downs, and they got stops late in the game to seal the win.
HIGHLIGHTS
FINAL STATS
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