Indiana’s first few non-conference games have become a kind of testing lab under Curt Cignetti, and that’s the part of the story that gets lost when people fixate on the final score.
The Hoosiers opened 2024 with a 31-7 win over Florida International and kicked off 2025 with a 27-14 victory over Old Dominion. Those opponents later finished 11-2 and 16-0, and Indiana’s performances in those games were not the same kind of runaway showings it later delivered against Big Ten teams.
That wasn’t because the staff couldn’t press the gas. It was because Indiana used those games to figure things out.
The program has taken heat for its non-conference scheduling, especially since it has not faced another power conference opponent in either of Cignetti’s first two non-conference slates. Indiana has also backed away from previously scheduled series, with some of those moves tracing back to Tom Allen’s tenure before Cignetti arrived. But the bigger point is what Indiana actually does once those games start.
If Cignetti wants a blowout, he can usually get one. Indiana showed that against Illinois in 2025 and against Purdue in both seasons.
Against FIU and Old Dominion, though, the Hoosiers used the reps to see what held up in a game setting and what didn’t. That matters for a team that doesn’t spend these weeks trying to reinvent itself.
Indiana leans into what has already worked, then uses the early schedule to test whether a wrinkle deserves a bigger role later.
That was on display with Fernando Mendoza against Old Dominion. Indiana did not ask him to carry the offense through the air; he finished with 193 passing yards and no touchdowns.
But the staff did use him on the ground, including a designed run on 3rd and goal in the second quarter that went for a touchdown. He ended the day with 33 rushing yards.
That usage stood out because Indiana did not have a mobile quarterback in 2024, and the staff clearly wanted to learn how deliberately it could use Mendoza outside of scrambles. He kept extending plays with his legs all season, postseason included, and he finished by scoring on that dive into the endzone in the National Championship Game.
The same kind of early-game experimentation showed up in the passing game. Against Old Dominion, only five of Mendoza’s 18 completions went to Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr. - two of the most established targets from the 2024 offense.
E.J. Williams Jr. matched that total on his own.
That looks very different from the Illinois game, where Sarratt caught nine passes and Cooper Jr. added six. Indiana kept feeding those two because they were proven, and the Illini had no answer for what they could do after the catch. Aaron Henry, the defensive coordinator/secondary coach tied to that result, left for a reduced role at Notre Dame this offseason.
The rest of the receiving work against Old Dominion included a 43-yard chunk screen from Riley Nowakowski, two catches from Roman Hemby out of the backfield and three grabs, including a touchdown, from Williams.
Williams is a good example of why these games matter. Indiana spent a lot of time in 2025 trying to find ways to fold him into the offense, mostly with intermediate throws.
That came after he had only two catches in 2024, with injury playing a part. He wasn’t a known quantity at the start, but by the end of the season he had become a real piece of the offense.
Nowakowski followed a similar path. Indiana got him involved early in the passing game, then leaned on him even more after the offense bogged down on the road at Iowa. He had not been used much as a receiver at Wisconsin, but Indiana kept searching until it found something that worked and then stuck with it.
That approach is exactly why the 2026 non-conference slate is worth watching closely. The early games should tell us a lot about what Indiana plans to carry forward.
Nick Marsh is one name to watch in a different role. He arrived as a freshman in 2024 as a dangerous downfield threat in Michigan State’s offense, then saw his role change in 2025 and his averages dip.
He still produced, but Indiana is likely to try him in a few different ways early to see whether anything beyond the go routes can become a steady part of the offense. He should be good.
The question is whether he can be more than that.
Davion Chandler and LeBron Bond are worth tracking too. Indiana’s 2024 offense worked so well in part because it had shorter, shifty receivers who could do damage after the catch.
That kind of player still matters, and it needs to come from one of those two or Shazz Preston, the more proven portal addition. One of them needs to make a real move in 2026 if Indiana wants the offense to keep humming the way it has in the first two seasons under Cignetti and Shanahan.
Turbo Richard brings a different wrinkle. Indiana has already found success with a certain type of running back, and the Hemby-Black pairing gave the Hoosiers reliable efficiency and a bruising presence on early downs.
Richard is faster and shiftier, with some receiving production that Cignetti specifically mentioned this offseason. That makes him a candidate for a more explosive rushing attack in 2026, and there are similarities to Justice Ellison, Indiana’s top back in 2024.
With uncertainty beyond the top two receivers, Indiana may also look for ways to get Richard involved as a pass catcher.
That is what these games are for: not just winning, but learning what deserves to survive once Big Ten play arrives.
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