Let's Not Forget What Chip Kelly Did to Indiana in 2024

The Northwestern offensive coordinator was in his bag against the Hoosiers two years ago.

Sep 5, 2026; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Northwestern Wildcats offensive coordinator Chip Kelly looks on before a game against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

There's a question that Chip Kelly and Chip Kelly alone can raise his hand to.

"Did you call offensive plays in a regular-season victory against the Curt Cignetti version of Indiana?"

Kelly can look around to the rest of the college football world, raise his hand and smile/flex/fist-pump or do whatever he does to celebrate such a feat.

Granted, that feat happened two years ago when he was the offensive coordinator at Ohio State. Much has changed for Indiana and Kelly, who'll instead be wearing purple when his Northwestern offense rolls into Bloomington on Friday night.

It's a new offense, but Kelly's early success in Evanston should have IU on notice

It's not bold to say that Northwestern is the best offense that IU has game-planned for in the first part of the 2026 season, which saw the Hoosiers post more shutouts (2) than touchdowns allowed (1), including a sleepy 38-0 rout of Western Kentucky in Week 3.

After all, IU is facing a Power Conference foe for the first time. The only other ranked team who will battle its first Power Conference foe in Week 4 is No. 13 Penn State.

But perhaps it is bold to say that Kelly could present some real problems for the No. 5 Hoosiers, who are 21.5-point favorites. The oddsmakers are essentially setting the line at a 35-14 IU victory (the over/under is 49.5). That might sound uncompetitive for an IU team that allowed 5.3 points per game so far, but let's back up a second.

The Wildcats are coming off a 41-7 beatdown of Colorado in which well-traveled quarterback Aidan Chiles played one of the best games of his career. He accounted for as many touchdowns (5) as he had incompletions, and he was 7-for-9 for 139 yards on passes that traveled 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage.

On top of that, Chiles only took one sack even though he faced pressure on 48% of his drop-backs. Not too shabby.

Aidan Chiles. Stud 🤯

5 total TD (2 rush, 3 pass)
17-for-22 (77%)
241 passing yards pic.twitter.com/Op8FRoBu6A

— Northwestern Football (@NUFBFamily) September 20, 2026

Needless to say, it was a far cry from the two performances that Chiles delivered in blowout losses against IU as Michigan State's starting quarterback in 2024-25.

Two things are true at the same time

It's unfair to say that Chiles will repeat those performances, and it's also unfair to say that Kelly will repeat what he did vs. IU with Ohio State in 2024.

Look back at the 2024 Ohio State offense. Emeka Egbuka, Carnell Tate, TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins were all top-40 picks in the NFL Draft, and that's not including future top-5 pick and current Heisman Trophy candidate Jeremiah Smith.

To say that Kelly will have a different group of weapons with this 2026 Northwestern squad would be like saying that his brief return to the NFL could have gone better. Duh. We get it. His flameout with the 2025 Las Vegas Raiders was why Kelly returned to the college game, where he belongs (don't tell him that).

We'll see Kelly try to get Chiles comfortable against IU's veteran front 7 by sprinkling in play-action, relying on the quick-hitting passing game and moving the pocket. Through two games, Northwestern's passing game has only had three contested catch targets. High-percentage throws are a Kelly staple.

Bryant Haines and the Hoosiers might remember Will Howard executing that game plan in his 22-for-26 showing in Kelly's offense in 2024. That season, Howard was No. 60 out of 82 qualified Power Conference quarterbacks (min. 100 drop-backs) with an average depth of target of 8.5 yards, and it was just 6.9 vs. IU.

If you recall, Howard was effective at getting the ball to Ohio State's playmakers (he averaged just 2.56 seconds per throw), and he capped off his day with a QB sneak to twist the knife in a 38-15 victory. Mind you, that was preceded by Henderson stopping at the 1-yard line in an effort to run out the clock.

Amidst that rare IU regular-season loss, we also got this moment.

Will Howard had a few messages for Cignetti and Indiana after Ohio State’s win last year pic.twitter.com/4NilR7UbxF

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) December 4, 2025

IU hasn't lost a regular-season game since that day in Columbus. Lord knows that Kelly would like to change that in his new digs.

Knowing Cignetti, he hasn't forgotten what Kelly's offense did to his squad a couple of years ago. Both have since celebrated national championship victories, albeit on different paths to Friday night's meeting in Bloomington.

The opportunity is open for Kelly to make a reputation-restoring statement in a standalone window — it'll be up to Cignetti and Co. to slam it shut.

• Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. 
• If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER