No. 7 Hoosiers' ground game remains Turbo-charged with 2-man rotation of Richard and Lee Beebe Jr.

At times, it’s hard to separate Indiana running backs Turbo Richard and Lee Beebe Jr.

There’s a 1-inch height difference and an 8-pound weight difference. Both came to Bloomington after multiple seasons at other schools. Each was on last week’s injury report, and Richard and Beebe both possess the speed/power combination and productivity Indiana coach Curt Cignetti demands from his ground game. Even their stats are nearly identical.

Either could be a star as a solo act, but this rushing duo seems to be playing better together.

“This is what this game is all about — how you respond,” quarterback Josh Hoover said after Beebe’s breakout game helped Indiana beat Northwestern 29-23 two weeks ago. “It’s not going to be perfect, and you’ve got to have the mental toughness to move forward, keep working and keep putting drives together. It’s going to be hard at times because football is a tough game.”

On a team full of tough guys, though, perhaps nobody is tougher than Beebe or Richard.

Beebe arrived at Indiana last year and was supposed to be part of a three-back rotation with Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black. But the all-conference transfer from UAB appeared in only three games before a noncontact injury to his right knee ended his season and forced him to watch the Hoosiers’ national championship run.

This year, he returned ready to show what he could do when healthy — and he’s delivered. Beebe returned the opening kickoff of the season 67 yards to set up a touchdown. His second touch went for a 43-yard TD run, only to be negated by a holding penalty. But instead of fretting, Beebe kept making big play after big play.

Through five games with the seventh-ranked Hoosiers (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten), he is averaging 5.8 yards on 89 carries and ranks 12th nationally with 540 yards. Last week, after appearing on Indiana’s midweek injury report, he registered 18 carries and 122 yards, giving him his third 100-yard game of the season and two straight heading into Saturday’s trip to Nebraska (5-0, 2-0), which has the stingiest run defense (101.6 yards) Indiana has faced this year.

But it was Beebe’s performance against Northwestern that really turned heads.

Richard did not return after suffering what appeared to be a serious injury in the first half, and Beebe responded with career bests of 24 carries and 203 yards while virtually carrying the Hoosiers to their 20th consecutive win. It was good enough to earn Cignetti’s highest praise.

“He’s got as much heart as anybody that’s been in this program the last three years,” Cignetti said. “I would compare his heart to Kaelon Black’s heart. He’s a guy that was doing really well and got hurt last year, so he lost the season. Boy, we really needed him and he carried the load.”

Richard would not be outdone. He returned to the lineup last weekend and was as dazzling as Beebe was the previous week. Richard averaged 15.8 yards per carry and needed only 13 rushes to finish with 204 yards — topping Beebe’s total by one and giving him three 100-yard games, just like Beebe.

Richard, the former Boston College star, moved past Beebe to reclaim the title of the Hoosiers’ top rusher, and he ranks ninth nationally with 587 yards, making Indiana the only program with two rushers among the top 12.

“I love it,” Richard said when asked about Beebe’s 200-yard game. “Watching the game after going down (against Northwestern) I’m like, ‘Yo, Lee’s holding it down.’ It just gave me motivation, like getting ready to come back, you know, being there and doing it with him.”

So far, it’s been quite a one-two punch. Indiana ranks ninth nationally at 252.6 yards rushing per game and is fourth at 6.4 yards per carry. And soon, with the potential return of Khobie Martin from a broken arm, this perfect pairing could emerge as the even tougher triplets — a change that would be welcomed by the humble two backs.

“I just try and lift everybody up, just try to be that voice and like, ‘Hey, don’t keep your head down, keep it up,'” Beebe said. “I just needed to step up and be there for the team (against Northwestern), and I was able to do that. It wasn’t just me, it was the line, it’s the receivers blocking down the field, it was Josh.”

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