5 Things That Matter: Next Man Up for Indiana at Rutgers

Indiana’s first road trip of the 2026 season was already going to tell us something about the Hoosiers. Now, with questions surrounding the running back room, Saturday night at Rutgers could tell us even more.

No. 5/6 Indiana enters the game 4-0 and riding a 20-game winning streak, but last week’s 29-23 win over Northwestern was far from clean. Curt Cignetti has made it clear the Hoosiers have to play better. Rutgers, meanwhile, gets Indiana at SHI Stadium for Homecoming with the Scarlet Knights having won the last three meetings in the series.

But the biggest storyline may now be in Indiana’s backfield. Lee Beebe Jr. was added to the availability report as questionable after rushing for a career-high 203 yards against Northwestern. Sean Cuono is also questionable, Khobie Martin remains out, and Turbo Richard is listed probable after leaving the Northwestern game with an injury.

So here are Coach Griff’s 5 Things That Matter as Indiana heads to Rutgers.

1. Next Man Up — Who Carries the Football?

This is where “Next Man Up” stops being a slogan and becomes reality.

Beebe has 398 rushing yards this season. Richard has 383 and is averaging 7.7 yards per carry. Those two have accounted for the bulk of Indiana’s rushing production, and Beebe showed exactly how valuable the Hoosiers’ depth was when Richard went down last week.

If Beebe and Cuono are unavailable Saturday, Indiana could be asking Richard — assuming he is ready for a meaningful workload — and true freshman Jayreon Campbell to carry the position.

Campbell has only six carries this season, but he has turned them into 43 yards. There may be no easing him into the job if Indiana needs him Saturday night.

This is why you build depth. Somebody who entered the week as a reserve may suddenly be taking meaningful Big Ten snaps on the road.

We may find out exactly who Indiana’s next man up really is.

2. Does Mike Shanahan Change the Offensive Equation?

The easy assumption is that a depleted running back room means Indiana simply throws the football more.

Maybe. But I think the more interesting question is how offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan replaces the missing rushing production without abandoning Indiana’s offensive identity.

That could mean more RPOs, quick throws, screens and touches designed to get the ball to Indiana’s receivers in space. Cignetti has already pointed out that the Hoosiers’ run game and RPO game are connected. A throw on the perimeter can function almost like an outside run if the defense gives Indiana the numbers.

Nick Marsh and the rest of the receiver room can become part of the solution without Indiana asking Josh Hoover to throw it 50 times.

But there is another possibility.

3. Is This the Week Josh Hoover Becomes Part of the Run Game?

I’ve talked about this concept before: Indiana does not need Josh Hoover to become a running quarterback.

Indiana needs the defense to believe Hoover might run.

There is an important difference.

We saw a glimpse of it against Northwestern. On the decisive goal-line touchdown, Northwestern sold out to stop Beebe inside. Hoover pulled the football, bootlegged outside and scored. Cignetti later explained that Northwestern’s commitment to the interior run was exactly why Indiana had Hoover keep it.

Now take that concept and expand it just enough to make Rutgers account for the quarterback.

I’m not talking about 10 or 12 Hoover carries. I’m talking about perhaps four to six calculated opportunities — a zone-read keeper, quarterback draw, short-yardage run or another tendency breaker.

Football is a numbers game. If the backside defender can completely disregard Hoover and chase the running back, Rutgers gains another defender against Indiana’s run game. If Hoover keeps it once or twice and makes that defender pay, suddenly somebody has to account for No. 10.

That can change the run fit even when Hoover never keeps the football again.

With Indiana potentially less than 100 percent at running back, Saturday might be the perfect time to put that possibility on film.

4. The Secondary Has to Answer the Northwestern Questions

Indiana held Northwestern to just 30 rushing yards, but communication problems in the secondary created explosive opportunities and helped keep the Wildcats in the game.

Rutgers has a receiver capable of punishing those mistakes.

KJ Duff enters Saturday with 29 receptions for 550 yards and seven touchdowns. He has produced 217 receiving yards over Rutgers’ last two games, and Cignetti called him a premier receiver this week.

That makes this an important test for Bryant Haines’ defense.

The issue isn’t simply whether Indiana can cover Duff. It’s whether the Hoosiers cleaned up the communication and assignment problems that appeared against Northwestern.

Good football teams identify a problem on film and correct it before the next opponent gets the opportunity to exploit it.

Rutgers will certainly have watched the same film.

5. Take Indiana Football on the Road

Four games. Four home games.

Now Indiana leaves Bloomington.

Saturday night is the Hoosiers’ first road game of 2026, and Rutgers will have Homecoming, a big crowd and a program that has won the previous three meetings against Indiana.

Cignetti has described it simply as a business trip. That is exactly the mentality Indiana needs.

The Hoosiers cannot take the penalties, missed assignments and missed opportunities from Northwestern and expect the environment at Rutgers to make them easier to overcome.

Indiana rushed for 270 yards against Northwestern and still found itself protecting a six-point lead in the final minute. That should have gotten everyone’s attention.

Road football rewards teams that travel with their defense, run game, discipline and composure.

We already know Indiana can win when everything is rolling.

Saturday night may tell us how this team responds when personnel changes, the environment changes and the game plan has to change with it.

Coach Griff’s Final Word

The running back situation makes this game much more interesting from a football perspective.

Maybe Turbo Richard returns and looks like Turbo. Maybe Lee Beebe Jr. is ultimately available. Maybe Jayreon Campbell becomes the latest Hoosier to answer when his number is called.

But I’ll be watching something else closely.

Does Indiana make Rutgers defend all 11 players?

If Shanahan puts Josh Hoover into the run equation — even selectively — it could give Indiana another answer at exactly the moment the Hoosiers may need one.

That is what good offensive football is about. You don’t simply replace a player. You find another way to create the same problem for the defense.

Next man up. Next adjustment up.