Injured running back Turbo Richard could return to the field for No. 6 Indiana this weekend when the Hoosiers visit Rutgers. If he does, the defending national champions will have their top two running backs available for their first road trip this season.
Coach Curt Cignetti made the announcement Monday during his weekly news conference. "We got really good news on Turbo, and he'll be day to day, and I'm optimistic he can play Saturday as well as Rolijah Hardy," Cignetti said. Richard was injured on a 2-yard run during the second quarter of Friday night's closer-than-expected 29-23 victory over Northwestern.
He was driven out of bounds and was tackled by a Wildcats player whose body came down on Richard's lower right leg near the Hoosiers' bench. No penalty was called, but Richard did not return to the game. "We'll see," was all Cignetti said about Richard during his postgame news conference.
Richard transferred to Indiana from Boston College earlier this year and was the Hoosiers' top rusher until getting hurt. He has 50 carries, 383 yards and four touchdowns as well as two catches for 43 yards. Lee Beebe Jr., Richard's replacement, rushed 24 times for 203 yards and one score and set up Indiana's game-sealing TD with a 70-yard run.
Beebe now leads the team with 71 carries and 398 yards and has three rushing TDs after missing all but three games in last season's Big Ten and national championship runs because of a right knee injury. The prognosis on Richard was even more critical because the other running back in Cignetti's three-runner rotation, Khobie Martin, remains out with a broken arm. Cignetti did not provide an update Monday on Martin's status, but he is expected back in the next few weeks.
That meant Beebe was — and still may be — poised to carry a heavier workload. "It’s not that much pressure," Beebe said after the game. "I just know I need to step up and be there for the team.
I was able to do that (Saturday). It wasn’t just me, it was the offensive line, receivers blocking downfield and it was great to mesh with (quarterback) Josh (Hoover), so it was an all-team effort." The Hoosiers (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) also got good news on Hardy, a play-making linebacker who is tied for the team lead with 18 tackles, eight coming against Northwestern before he left the game in the second half with an undisclosed injury. Instead of going to the bench, Hardy walked straight to the locker room and did not return to the game.
"We expect him to be fine," Cignetti said when asked about Hardy's playing status. Indiana has the Football Bowl Subdivision's longest active winning streak, a school-record 20 consecutive games, and the FBS' longest active home winning streak at 19. The Hoosiers also have won 12 consecutive conference games.
Reporting by the Associated Press.
