Indiana football is set for its first road trip of the 2026 season with its matchup against Rutgers on Saturday at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey.
It’s Curt Cignetti’s first time facing the Scarlet Knights as the Hoosiers head coach. Rutgers, led by head coach Greg Schiano, has won each of the last three matchups between the two including two games played in Bloomington.
The Hoosiers will enter this game as a strong favorite, but the Scarlet Knights have proven they’re not to be taken all that
lightly after forcing USC into a fourth quarter game at home this season.
Here’s three predictions for the matchup.
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Indiana shows some struggles against KJ Duff
Indiana’s secondary faced its first real test of the 2026 season last Friday going against Northwestern’s Aidan Chiles, Chip Kelly and some underrated pass catchers. The results were less than ideal.
Chiles had a strong performance through the air, completing 22 of his 29 passing attempts for 293 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Wildcats tight end Luke Dehnicke looked all but unstoppable, hauling in seven receptions for 140 yards while wide receiver Griffin Wilde caught six passes for 56 yards and both of Chiles’ touchdowns.
Rutgers doesn’t have the same offensive chops and system as Northwestern but it does have a monster out wide in KJ Duff. Duff, just four games into the season, has 29 receptions for 550 yards and 7 touchdowns.
What’s extra worrying about Duff is that he brings a similar frame at wide receiver that Dehnicke has at tight end, standing at 6’6” and weighing in at 225 lbs. He has the vast majority of Rutgers’ receptions on the season, nearly doubling those of second-leading pass catcher and fellow wideout Jourdin Houston.
I’ve marked this as a bold prediction because, outside of Jeremiah Smith, Indiana has largely been good at containing talented wide receivers during Curt Cignetti’s time in Bloomington. Doing so without D’Angelo Ponds remains a tall task.
Rutgers will look to Duff early and often, so don’t be surprised when he starts making plays.
Lee Beebe Jr. is in for another strong night on the ground
Indiana enters this one with a running backs room in pretty rough shape. Khobie Martin is, of course, unavailable due to an arm injury suffered early on this season while Turbo Richard exited the game against Northwestern after suffering a leg injury.
Curt Cignetti said he was optimistic on Richard’s ability to take the field on Saturday during his Monday press conference this week. Richard was listed as “probable” on Indiana’s initial availability report for the matchup released on Wednesday evening. Another back, sophomore Sean Cuono, popped up on that report as “questionable”.
It’s a real thin room right now but someone has to carry the football. Pending Richard’s availability, that someone is Lee Beebe Jr., who ran all over Northwestern last Friday.
I’d expect another big game out of Beebe Jr. due to the aforementioned lack of availability at the position and Rutgers looking susceptible to the run in losses to UMass, Boston College and USC.
Someone not named Charlie Becker leads the Hoosiers in receiving
Charlie Becker has led Indiana in receiving yards in each of the Hoosiers’ first four games of the 2026 season. Contrast that with 2025, when Omar Cooper Jr. and Elijah Sarratt alternated through four games and 2024, when four different receivers led the way in each game.
Indiana’s passing game is going to need to be more multiple if the Hoosiers are to find high-level success in 2026. Nick Marsh’s usage increased heavily against Northwestern, but his 52 yards were dwarfed by Becker’s 98.
Other guys who could step up alongside Becker include Marsh himself, Tyler Morris, Shazz Preston and Davion Chandler. Indiana’s receiving corps is taking greater shape with time and its development will be one of the more interesting to follow this season.
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