Old teammates, new roles: Turbo Richard and No. 6 Indiana visit Dylan Lonergan and Rutgers

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Indiana running back Turbo Richard and Rutgers quarterback Dylan Lonergan, who shared a backfield at Boston College last season, are on tap for a reunion Saturday.

Their paths have taken a very different turn after transferring during the offseason.

Richard is an integral part of the running attack for the sixth-ranked and defending national champion Hoosiers while Lonergan has struggled for Rutgers (1-3, 0-1 Big Ten). Lonergan won the starting quarterback job over AJ Surace but has yet to find consistency leading the offense. He has thrown five interceptions and completed just 56.1% (46 of 82) of his passes.

Richard, who Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said is expected to play Saturday after getting injured during last week’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 (Richard) and he will be day to day,” said Cignetti. “I’m optimistic he can play Saturday.”

Indiana (4-0, 1-0) owns the Football Bowl Subdivision’s longest active winning streak, a school-record 20 consecutive games. They also have won 12 consecutive conference games.

“There’s no weakness in this team (Indiana) that’s why they’ve won 20 straight,” said Rutgers coach Greg Schiano. “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. So certainly, a tough task, but one we are certainly looking forward to.”

A dip in the poll

The six-point win over feisty Northwestern dropped the Hoosiers a spot in the AP Top 25 poll this week.

“The last game, positive is we were in a close game and prevailed,” Cignetti said. “There is value in that. Negative is we didn’t play well. We were very inconsistent. We got to play better.”

Inexperienced defense

If Richard plays Saturday, the Hoosiers should be able to control the ball and the clock against an inexperienced Scarlet Knights defense that allows 166.8 yards a game on the ground.

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. The only Power Four transfer on defense is cornerback Kevyn Humes (Maryland). In Humes’ only start against USC, he misplayed a pass that resulted in a 52-yard touchdown in the 42-35 loss to USC.

Lonergan is the only other Power Four transfer in the program. Of the 18 Indiana transfers from the portal, 16 are from FBS schools.

“The big thing is going to be limiting the explosive plays and take the ball away,” said Schiano. “That’s going to be a challenge. You better tackle well against this outfit because those running backs run as hard as anybody in the country.”

Rutgers’ dynamic duo

Junior wide receiver KJ Duff made the second team preseason AP All-America team and leads the nation with seven receiving touchdowns. He ranks fourth in receiving yards per game (137.5) and 11th with 7.25 receptions per game.

Running back Antwan Raymond is eighth nationally with 109.3 rushing yards per game. Duff and Raymond went over 2,000 yards for their careers in receptions and rushing yards, respectively, in the win over Howard.

On the road again

A sellout crowd is expected at SHI Stadium for Indiana’s first road game of the season. Cignetti has lost only one regular season road game as the Hoosiers coach — in November 2024 at Ohio State. Cignetti downplayed any potential road hurdles.

“We’re still playing on a 100-yard football field, 52 yards wide,” he said. “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.”

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