Northwestern vs. Indiana prediction: Hoosiers pile up the points in Bloomington

Indiana just keeps chugging along.The No.5-ranked Hoosiers rolled their winning streak to 19 games with a 38-0 thrashing of Western Kentucky, Indiana’s second shutout in a row, and they now host Northwestern on Friday with a chance to earn their 20th victory in a row.Curt Cignetti’s bunch are 20.5-point favorites over the undefeated Wildcats on Friday night.There were some rumblings about Indiana’s performance not being up to snuff in Week 3, but it’s really hard to nitpick a 38-0 win over Western Kentucky, especially in some brutal heat.Perhaps the Hoosier faithful are riding their high horse, or they got used to Fernando Mendoza carving defenses up for fun, but it shouldn’t be a massive shock that the offense looks slightly worse than it did at the end of last season.According to Bill Connelly’s SP+ metric, Indiana currently grades out as “just” the seventh-best offense in college football after three games.The offense may not have hit its stride just yet, but Indiana’s defense looks like a force to be reckoned with already.

The Hoosiers allowed 16 points to North Texas in Week 1, but they haven’t given up a single score since, a full nine quarters of clean sheets.The opponents leave something to be desired, but registering back-to-back shutouts is still quite a feat.Northwestern’s offense, which is now under the watchful eye of Chip Kelly and being piloted by quarterback Aidan Chiles, will provide a more robust challenge for the Hoosiers.The Wildcats are coming off a 41-point outburst against Deion Sanders and Colorado in Week 3, and Chiles looked the part with three touchdowns, 241 yards, and only five incompletions on 22 attempts.Chiles and the Wildcats should be able to ask some questions of this Indiana defense.I do have my doubts that Northwestern will be able to stop the Hoosiers, though.Indiana hasn’t played anybody good yet, but it’s hard not to be encouraged by Josh Hoover’s start under center in Bloomington.The former TCU H...