4 Takeaways From Indiana’s Season-Opening Win Over North Texas

Indiana unveiled its national championship signage before Saturday’s season opener, officially putting the 2025 Hoosiers’ perfect 16-0 season on display at Memorial Stadium. Then the defending champions put on another show. Quarterback Josh Hoover and the Hoosiers began their title defense with a resounding 52-16 win over North Texas. Curt Cignetti’s team did it under sweltering conditions, with temperatures reaching 90 degrees and reportedly feeling closer to 150 on the field. The heat didn’t faze the Hoosiers as they cruised in Week 1, reminding everyone why expectations should remain sky-high in Bloomington. Here are my takeaways from “Big Noon Saturday.” 1. Josh Hoover Has Arrived — Expect the Bloody-Face T-Shirts Next It’s no secret that for most of this season, new Indiana quarterback Josh Hoover will be compared to his predecessor, Fernando Mendoza. This is the reality when you follow a star like Mendoza, who won the Heisman Trophy, led the Hoosiers to the program’s first-ever national title, and then went on to become the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. The standards are high. And after one game, Hoover — who transferred to IU from TCU — looks like the real deal. He completed 13 of 16 passes for 231 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He delivered several quality throws, including a stellar 9-yard touchdown strike to Charlie Becker in the back of the end zone to give Indiana a 21-3 lead. Blood was dripping down Hoover’s face after North Texas defensive lineman Udoka Ezeana grabbed his facemask while sacking the quarterback. Hoover got up, finished the drive and capped it with the well-timed ball to Backer. You can bet that there will be T-shirts with Hoover’s bloody face on them for sale in Bloomington by tomorrow. “I thought he played with a lot of confidence today,” Cignetti said of Hoover when speaking with FOX Sports’ Jenny Taft after the game. 2. Hoosiers’ Passing Attack Steals The Show Before the start of the season, Cignetti was asked about Hoover’s tendency to turn the ball over. He threw 33 interceptions in three seasons at TCU, a stat former Horned Frogs coach Sonny Dykes referenced in the spring. Upon transferring to Indiana, Cignetti joked that his quarterback’s two new best friends would be a “great defense and a really good run game.” The running game was solid, with Boston College transfer Turbo Richard rushing for 58 yards and two touchdowns. But the passing game stole the show. Hoover didn’t turn the ball over and his favorite target on Saturday was Becker, who he targeted six times. The junior — who was a star for Indiana during last year’s title run — led all receivers with four catches for 64 yards and two touchdowns. Michigan State transfer Nick Marsh — one of the most coveted players in the transfer portal this offseason — also scored a touchdown in his first game as a Hoosier. 3. Indiana’s Defense Has Plenty to Clean Up Last year, Indiana had one of the best defenses in the country. The Hoosiers ranked second behind Ohio State in scoring defense, limiting opponents to just 11.7 points per game. Yes, Indiana lost some important pieces from that unit, including middle linebacker Aidan Fisher, but plenty of talent remains. And defensive coordinator Bryant Haines is back after winning the Broyles Award, which honors the nation’s top assistant coach, in 2025. Still, the defensive line looked shaky at times in the opener, allowing North Texas to average 4.0 yards per rush. While the Mean Green scored just 16 points, Indiana’s defense struggled to get off the field in the first half. North Texas actually held the ball longer than the Hoosiers, winning the time of possession battle, 37:22 to 22:38. The Hoosiers lost starting cornerbacks A.J. Harris and Jamari Sharpe to injuries before halftime, which certainly didn’t help matters. Still, Haines and Cignetti likely won’t be thrilled with the defense’s overall performance and will have some things to clean up ahead of next week. “There are a lot of corrections to be made,” Cignetti told Taft following the game. “There’s some good, some bad, some ugly.” 4. What’s Next? Indiana has a relatively manageable path to start the season and won’t face a ranked opponent until Oct. 17, when it hosts No. 1 Ohio State in a rematch of last season’s Big Ten Championship Game. After that, we’ll learn a lot more about the Hoosiers, because the schedule gets significantly more difficult. After hosting the Buckeyes, IU will immediately travel to Ann Arbor to face Michigan the following weekend. The Hoosiers don’t have a bye until Nov. 7, and things get even tougher in mid-November with matchups against USC at home and Washington in Seattle. IU is a favorite to win a second consecutive national championship and become the first team to repeat since Georgia in 2021 and 2022 — but it won’t be easy.