BLOOMINGTON - Indiana didn’t leave much room for drama on Saturday, and that was the point.
The No. 5 Hoosiers handled Howard exactly the way a team in their spot should, rolling to a 55-0 win and looking cleaner, sharper and more explosive than they did in Week 1. Curt Cignetti’s group moved to 2-0, and while the opponent makes it hard to draw sweeping conclusions, there were still a few performances worth chewing on.
Start with quarterback Josh Hoover, who was busy enough to hit a major career marker while keeping Indiana’s offense on track. His last completion of the day, a 21-yard throw to Nick Marsh late in the first half, pushed him past 10,000 career passing yards in college. Hoover also threw four touchdown passes for the second straight game.
The one thing Cignetti probably won’t love? Hoover absorbed too many hits.
Indiana clearly wants him to use his legs at times, but the coach will want more slides and more steps out of bounds, and fewer moments where the quarterback is taking contact near the sideline for a small gain. That part of the afternoon is the one area that won’t earn much celebration.
Then there’s Charlie Becker, who made it awfully tempting to get carried away.
Becker caught three touchdown passes and finished with three grabs for 81 yards. The first score showed off his ability to win a contested jump ball.
The second came on a slant in tight red-zone space, where his release stood out. The third was the most eye-catching of all, a 41-yard catch and run that showed how quickly he can separate once he gets rolling.
That gives Becker five touchdown receptions on the season already, and he is on pace to make a real run at James Hardy’s single-season program record of 16. If he keeps producing like this against stronger competition, the New York conversation would not be out of place.
On the other side of the ball, Indiana’s defense put together the kind of day that looks much more familiar under Bryant Haines.
The Hoosiers finished with 12 tackles for loss, five sacks, a defensive touchdown and only 57 total yards allowed. Howard never crossed midfield on a drive, which tells you how thoroughly Indiana controlled the game. It was the kind of performance that looked a lot closer to the standard Indiana has built than what showed up in Week 1.
That said, it probably makes more sense to call it progress than to say the defense is “back.” A win over a Football Championship Subdivision team won’t inspire any grand declarations, but it did offer a clean step forward for a team that looked more like itself.
In Other News...
Indiana Suddenly Has A Kicker Question It Didnt Expect
Indianas kicking situation took an unexpected turn against Howard when Nico Radicic was ruled out because of back pain that started Thursday, according to the broadcast. With the Hoosiers suddenly needing a replacement, Paddy McAteer stepped into the role and handled the extra-point duties in his place.
McAteers night had a little of everything, missing an early PAT before later settling in and converting one. For Indiana, the bigger issue now is less about a single kick than how long it might have to manage without Radicic, with no clear return timeline yet available. [Read more 🡒]
Lee Corso Update Will Hit Florida State Fans Right In The Heart
Lee Corsos public appearances have become rare since he retired after the 2025 season, but a recent reunion with Kirk Herbstreit in Orlando offered a familiar reminder of why he remains such a beloved figure in college football. Herbstreit described the physical ailments Corso is dealing with at 91, while also emphasizing that the longtime College GameDay analyst is still sharp and fully engaged when the conversation turns to the sport he helped shape.
For Florida State fans, any Corso update carries its own weight, given how closely his voice has been tied to the broader history of college football Saturdays. Even after the final headgear pick in Columbus closed the book on his on-air run, Corsos presence still resonates, especially because he continues to stay mentally connected to the game despite a past stroke and the challenges that have limited his outings. [Read more 🡒]
Charlie Becker Is Becoming A Huge Factor In Indianas Title Push
Charlie Becker has quickly moved from promising receiver to one of the early reasons Indianas offense looks so dangerous again. The junior has opened the 2026 season in emphatic fashion, finding the end zone multiple times in the first two games and giving the Hoosiers another reliable weapon as they chase a second straight Big Ten title.
Against Howard, Becker did most of his damage before halftime, catching three touchdown passes in the first half and putting his name squarely in the middle of Indianas title conversation. For a team trying to defend its place atop the league, having another playmaker emerging this fast only raises the ceiling, and it is starting to look like Becker will be hard to ignore as the season unfolds. [Read more 🡒]