Sophomore running back Stevie Scott rushed for 116 yards and scored three touchdowns, lifting Indiana to a 34-3 win over Northwestern on Saturday in Bloomington, Ind.

Scott scored on a pair of 2-yard touchdown runs in the first half and added a 20-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter as the surging Hoosiers (7-2, 4-2 Big Ten) rolled to their fourth straight win.

Michael Penix Jr. returned to start at quarterback for Indiana and completed 10 of 15 passes for 162 yards with one rushing TD before leaving the game late in the second quarter. Junior backup Peyton Ramsey finished the game, throwing a 20-yard TD pass to Scott to extend Indiana's lead to 31-3 in the third quarter. Ramsey completed 7 of 10 passes for 108 yards.

Indiana converted two first-half Northwestern turnovers into 14 points to take a 24-3 lead into halftime. On the first turnover, with the Hoosiers up 3-0, Indiana freshman cornerback Tiawan Mullen stripped Northwestern quarterback Aidan Smith, with Indiana defensive end Michael Ziemba recovering at Northwestern's 47-yard line. Seven plays later, Scott scored on a 2-yard touchdown to extend Indiana's lead to 10-0.

With Indiana up 10-3, linebacker Cam Jones stripped Northwestern running back Drake Anderson, with Mullen recovering at the Hoosiers' 18-yard line. From there, the Hoosiers drove 18 yards, scoring on a 1-yard Penix touchdown run to extend their lead to 17-3 with 11:10 left in the second quarter.

Later in the second quarter, Penix connected with junior receiver Whop Philyor on throws of 42 and 35 yards during an eight play, 85-yard touchdown drive. Scott ended the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to put the Hoosiers up 24-3 with 2:36 left in the half.

Northwestern (1-7, 0-6 Big Ten) played the game without its leading rusher, running back Isaiah Bowser, and its leading receiver, wide receiver JJ Jefferson. Both sat out with undisclosed injuries. Smith started the game at quarterback for the Wildcats before being replaced by Hunter Johnson. Neither quarterback was effective. Smith completed 5 of 12 passes for 47 yards, while Johnson completed 7 of 17 passes for 65 yards.

--Field Level Media