NOTEBOOK: Richard Fast Return Promising; Blocking Receivers; Rutgers
By Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Could Indiana running back Turbo Richard return for Saturday night’s game at Rutgers (1-3 overall, 0-1 in the Big Ten)?
Signs are promising.
During his Monday weekly press conference, head coach Curt Cignetti called Richard “day to day” after suffering a first-half leg injury in last Saturday’s 29-23 win over Northwestern.
“I’m optimistic he can play on Saturday,” Cignetti said.
Richard was having an outstanding game against Northwestern with 68 yards on nine carries. He was hurt during a sideline tackle and never returned.
For the season, Richard has 383 yards and four touchdowns on 50 carries, a 7.7 yards-per-carry average. He’s also made an impact at receiver and kickoff returner.
In Richard’s absence, running back Lee Beebe Jr. rushed 24 times for a career-high 203 rushing yards, including a career-long 70-yard run. For the season, he has rushed for 398 yards and three touchdowns on 71 carries. He averages 5.6 yards per carry.
If Richard returns, it will allow the Hoosiers to fully utilize Cignetti’s preferred running back rotation. With Khobie Martin still out with an arm injury, the other running back options are Sean Cuono (45 yards on 11 carries) and Jayreon Campbell (43 yards on six carries).
The No. 5/6 Hoosiers (4-0 overall, 1-0 in the Big Ten) have won a national-best 20 straight games. It’s the longest streak since Washington won 21 straight from 2022-24, and the longest since Ohio State won 23 in a row from 2013-14.
The longest winning streak by a Big Ten team since 1980 is 24 straight by Ohio State in 2012-13.
Still, Cignetti wants more, pointing out multiple penalties, missed assignments and botched execution against Northwestern.
“We didn’t play well,” he said. “We’ve got to play better. We’re not going very far playing that way.”
After four straight home games, IU will face its first road game of the season. Cignetti has lost only one regular season road game as the Hoosiers coach -- in November of 2024 at Ohio State, the eventual national champion.
Cignetti downplayed any mental road hurdles.
“We're still playing on a 100-yard football field, 52 yards wide. We’ve got a lot of veterans on this team that have been there.
“It’s a business trip, so we’ve got to prepare well and put it between the white lines.”
Rutgers lost to UMass 37-21, Boston College 28-21 and USC 42-35. It beat Howard 58-7. It averages 33.8 points and allows 28.5. It has given up nine sacks.
This will be the Scarlet Knights’ Homecoming Game. Cignetti said a sellout crowd of 56,000 is expected.
“They’re capable of scoring points,” he said, “and they do score points.”
Head coach Greg Schiano has won 100 games at Rutgers. In his first run with the Scarlet Knights, he led them to six bowls in seven years before leaving to take the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coaching job. He returned in 2019.
Rutgers’ offensive line -- led by left tackle Chris Vigna, right guard Kwabena Asamoah and right tackle Moshood Giwa -- is generating attention. Pro Football Focus gave it high grades following its performances against USC and Howard.
Over the last two games, quarterback Dylan Lonergan is 30-for-53 for 466 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions. For the season, he completes 56.1 percent of his passes for 708 yards, seven touchdowns, and five interceptions.
Running back Antwan Raymond had 262 rushing yards in that stretch. He has 438 yards and four TDs for the season. Receiver KJ Duff had 217 receiving yards in the last two games, giving him 29 catches for 550 yards with seven touchdowns for the season.
Defensively, Moses Walker and Bradlee Jones each have two interceptions.
“KJ Duff is a premier receiver and their other receivers are developing,” Cignetti said. “They’ve got a good running back in Antwan Raymond. Kirk Ciarrocca, their offensive coordinator, does a nice job with that offense. Greg Schiano is obviously a great coach. He coached in the NFL.”
Sometimes it’s the little things that don’t register in the stat book that matter the most.
Take, for instance, linebacker Isaiah Jones recovering the Northwestern onside kick late in the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats had just kicked a field goal to draw within 29-23 with 58 seconds left in the game. They might have recovered their onside attempt if Jones hadn’t dived, fought, and recovered.
IU then ran out the clock behind running back Beebe Jr.’s you-ain’t-tackling-me efforts.
“You hope you never have to do that,” Jones said of his decisive recovery, “but when your number is called, you have to step up. That's just the next play we had to make.”
If you play wide receiver for Cignetti and offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan, you’d better block.
Veteran wide receiver Nick Marsh is a big believer. He gets acclaim for his receiving (16 catches, 221 yards, three touchdowns this season), but his blocking has helped key IU’s running success.
It certainly did with two monster fourth-quarter blocks that helped free Beeb Jr. for huge runs.
“My job is to do the best I can for my teammates,” he said. “Downfield blocking is one of the things I'm good at, so I just try to elevate that in my game and make it part of my character.”
Added Cignetti: “Nick is improving every week. We're using him in a lot of different ways. He's a threat in the pass game and he's also an excellent blocker. I'm really encouraged by the way Nick is trending.”
All the Hoosier receivers are doing their share of blocking, a big reason why IU has three runs of more than 30 yards, 12 of more than 20, and 27 of more than 10.
“I think our receivers in general have done a pretty good job,” Cignetti said. “Blocking can still improve. (Receiver) Shazz Preston, you saw a key block on (Beebe Jr.’s 70-yard run).
“That's something we emphasize. Mike does and me being an ex-receiver coach at Alabama where all we did was block when I was there, I kind of drive that point home hard to the receivers as we get close to game day. I give them credit, they've responded.”
Defensive lineman Tobi Osunsanmi is starting to find his rhythm in Bryant Haines’ defense after transferring from Kansas State. He has 12 tackles, 6.5 for loss with a team-leading three sacks. He’s also forced a fumble and registered a quarterback hurry.
The fact IU was able to win a cliffhanger over Northwestern despite a series of mistakes, could have long-term benefits, he said, if everyone learns from them.
“Winning a game like this brings the team together,” he said. “It shows where we need to improve. I'd rather have a game like this and still win, than a game later on down the line that is really close, like a must-win game where that’s when we start to figure out our flaws.”
Correcting those flaws, he adds, starts with lots of film work.
“We see what we need to improve on. We see all the missed assignments and all the missed opportunities that we’ve got to improve on directly.
“Our film session is not like a highlight tape. It's not like ‘Oh, I did good here, I did good there,' it's like, ‘What did I do? What can I improve on going forward?' That’s a big thing because all the teams are looking at what we did wrong and circling it.”
IU has occasionally used jumbo offensive packages in which large defensive linemen play on the offensive line to provide power blocking in short-yardage -- usually goal line -- situations. It happened late in the Northwestern game when, facing third and goal at the 1-yard line, in came defensive linemen Stephen Daley (6-foot-1, 273 pounds), Mario Landino (6-foot-4, 288 pounds), and Joe Hjelle (6-foot-3, 318 pounds).
Quarterback Josh Hoover faked a handoff to Beebe Jr. smashing up the middle and bootlegged outside for the decisive touchdown run.
“I like it when it works,” Cignetti said. “We bring those defensive guys in because we are a little short at tight end, and it was successful last season and early this season now.
“Northwestern was fully committed to stopping the inside run which is why we had Josh pull the ball on the last touchdown. I don't want him pointing like he did. I don't condone that. We could have got called there for taunting and I was disappointed to see that.
“Week to week, based on the opponent, we're just trying to put ourselves in the best position. Some weeks you might see it and some weeks you won't.”