PISCATAWAY, N.J. — They were together in Boston College’s backfield last season and on Saturday, Indiana running back Turbo Richard and Rutgers quarterback Dylan Lonergan will reunite when the No. 6 Hoosiers visit New Jersey.
Schiano, who won his 100th game at the school in Friday’s 58-7 romp over FCS school Howard, has built his defense around portal transfers that have yet to materialize. The only Power 4 transfer on defense is cornerback Kevyn Humes who came over from Maryland.
Richard, who Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said is expected to play Saturday after getting injured during the second quarter of Friday night’s closer-than-expected 29-23 victory over Northwestern, has run for 383 yards and four touchdowns. He is part of a vaunted ground game with Lee Beebe Jr. that is averaging 233.5 yards a game.
“We got good news on Turbo and he will be day to day,” said Cignetti. “I’m optimistic he can play Saturday.”
“They have won or tied the turnover margin for 28 straight weeks which is a modern-day record and goes along with many of their other accomplishments. He ranks fourth in receiving yards per game and 11th with 7.25 receptions per game. “So certainly, a tough task, but one we are certainly looking forward to. “There is value in that. Negative is we didn’t play well. We were very inconsistent. We got to play better. We’re not going to go very far playing the way we played Saturday night. Junior wide receiver KJ Duff made the pre-season second team All-America and leads the nation with seven receiving touchdowns. “We’ve got a lot of veterans on this team that have been there. It’s a business trip, so we’ve got to prepare well and put it between the white lines.”
“There’s no weakness in this team that’s why they’ve won 20 straight,” said Rutgers coach Greg Schiano. “The last game, positive is we were in a close game and prevailed,” said Cignetti in his weekly press conference. “We’re still playing on a 100-yard football field, 52 yards wide,” he said.
