Indiana Football: Confidence and Concerns as the Hoosiers Hit the Road at Rutgers

The Indiana Hoosiers are 4-0 and ranked sixth in the nation and head to play a reeling Rutgers team who have major questions lurking about its future. While that may be a major cause for confidence, Indiana heads into Saturday night's matchup with a few concerns as well.

Confidence: The Hoosiers Offense Can Kick into Gear

Indiana's offense is averaging 43.5 points per game, good for fourth in the Big Ten. However, IU has not kicked it into high gear on that side of the ball yet.

Playing the Scarlet Knights is an opportunity for head coach Curt Cignetti and offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan to unlock Josh Hoover and the passing game, while nursing a potentially very banged-up running game back to health.

Rutgers is surrendering 28.5 points per game, second-worst in the Big Ten. They are also allowing 264.5 yards per game through the air against Power Four competition.

Indiana's receivers are just better than Rutgers banged-up secondary, which could be without Kevyn Humes and Kaj Sanders. This is the perfect opportunity to get Hoover into rhythm before heading into the meat of Big Ten play with Nebraska, Ohio State and Michigan all on the horizon.

Sep 5, 2026; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Josh Hoover (10) stands in the pocket with blood on his face after a penalty for face masking against North Texas Mean Green on the previous play during the second quarter at Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Concern: Running Back Depth

Even with the potentially good news about Hoosiers running back Turbo Richard on Wednesday's availability report, there is cause for concern here.

IU only has five running backs on the roster and Khobie Martin is already ruled out with a broken arm. Turbo Richard is listed as probable, but second-year back Sean Cuono was added to the report as questionable.

This leaves Lee Beebe Jr. and first-year back Jayreon Campbell as the only healthy running backs on the roster. As great as Beebe was in the win over Northwestern, two healthy running backs is an issue. The Hoosiers have to hope that Richard can play and no one else suffers an injury.

Confidence: Indiana's Pass Rush

There was plenty of hype surrounding Indiana's defensive line heading into the 2026 season and while they have not put up the numbers that everyone thought they would, IU is still very good up front.

Last week, Indiana had trouble taking down Aidan Chiles and allowed the Northwestern quarterback to use his feet to extend plays and run for first downs. That should not be an issue against Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights have allowed 15 tackles for loss and five sacks so far this season.

Through four games the Hoosiers have 33 tackles for loss and 11 sacks. IU will be without rotational defensive end Daniel Ndukwe, but will have Stephen Daley back full-time. Daley has been Indiana's best defensive lineman again this season.

Concern: Defending KJ Duff

Rutgers wide receiver KJ Duff may be the best receiver in the Big Ten not named Jeremiah Smith. He's 6-6 and 225 pounds. He runs good routes and has a gigantic catch radius. While Rutgers has been mainly terrible all season, Duff has been productive. He has 29 catches for 550 yards and seven touchdowns.

The Hoosiers have looked leaky on the back end of their defense as new faces are still growing and learning the system.

The Hoosiers have run zone coverage nearly 87% of the time this season, which is a tick higher than last season. After getting carved up a bit against Northwestern, Indiana needs to throw a different look at Rutgers.

They can put corner Jamari Sharpe on Duff and maybe double him with either Byron Baldwin or Amare Ferrell, but the best way to stop Duff may be unleashing the pass rush and putting pressure on turnover-prone quarterback Dylan Lonergan.

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