Josh Hoover threw for two touchdowns and Lee Beebe Jr. rushed for two as No. 4 Indiana gradually pulled away for a 38-0 nonconference victory over Western Kentucky on Saturday afternoon in Bloomington, Ind.
Hoover hit 18 of 24 for 273 yards, while Turbo Richard rushed for 149 yards and a score as the Hoosiers (3-0) extended their winning streak to 19 games. The defense posted its second consecutive shutout while limiting the Hilltoppers (0-3) to 186 yards.
Florida State transfer Brock Glenn got his first start at quarterback for Western Kentucky and completed 17 of 32 passes for 120 yards. He also rushed 11 times for a team-high 30 yards.
Glenn led two time-consuming drives in the first quarter but couldn’t deliver any points. The Hilltoppers marched to set up first-and-goal from the 4 on their second drive, but the Hoosiers forced an incompletion on fourth down from the 2 to keep the game scoreless with 1:10 left in the first.
Indiana’s offense fared better on its fourth-and-2 attempt on the game’s next possession. While getting crunched from the blind side, Hoover hit Davion Chandler on a short slant that he turned into a 26-yard score to give the Hoosiers a 7-0 lead with 9:51 to go in the first half.
The Hoosiers went for it again on fourth down from Western Kentucky’s 30 on their next drive, but Hoover’s pass was thrown behind Marsh to turn it over on downs.
Indiana stuffed Western Kentucky on a fourth-and-1 from the Hoosiers’ 34, but Western Kentucky forced an Indiana punt with 1:26 to go in the half.
Rather than go into halftime trailing 7-0, the Hilltoppers tried to steal a quick march into field-goal range. Instead, linebacker Isaiah Jones picked off Glenn at Western Kentucky’s 24 and returned it to the 3. Two plays later, Beebe plunged in from 1 yard out to give Indiana a 14-0 lead with 37 seconds left in the half.
Indiana looked sharper on both sides of the ball in the third quarter. The Hoosiers took the opening drive to Western Kentucky’s 2, but settled for Paddy McAteer’s 21-yard field goal.
After forcing the Hilltoppers into their first three-and-out, Indiana needed just one play to boost its lead to 24-0 lead. Hoover connected on a bomb to Becker that he caught at the 35-yard line, then accelerated away from the secondary for a 79-yard score — his sixth touchdown of the season.
Beebe added a 2-yard touchdown rush with 1:02 left in the third, then Richard capped the scoring with a 25-yard sprint with 7:10 to play.
