TCU’s Week 0 dud in Dublin did more than leave Sonny Dykes searching for answers after a 15-10 loss to UNC. It also made a loud case for why Josh Hoover should be in a better spot at Indiana than he ever was in Fort Worth.
Dykes spent plenty of the broadcast taking what felt like thinly veiled shots at last year’s TCU offense, including the one he’d already made public earlier in the offseason: “Josh started 31 games here as a quarterback, and (HE) turned the ball over 42 times.”
That comment got Curt Cignetti talking, and the Indiana coach came to Hoover’s defense with a line that landed just as hard: “When Josh got here, he met his two new best friends: Great defense and a really good run game. "And he was never the same after that.”
Dykes later backed up the general point in July, saying that “when you don't have to score 50 points to win, it's a lot easier” (via Jared Kelly). But the Week 0 version of TCU didn’t exactly strengthen his argument. The Horned Frogs managed only one turnover in the sloppy opener, yet they also averaged just four yards per play, their least efficient showing since getting blasted 65-7 by Georgia in the national championship at the end of 2022.
That was the kind of performance that made the turnover talk sound even louder. TCU was shut out over the final three quarters, and the offense couldn’t find a second touchdown against a UNC defense that Hoover and the Horned Frogs had hung 48 points on in last year’s opener.
The bigger picture matters here, too. Hoover is walking into a much friendlier setup at Indiana, and Dykes himself acknowledged as much by pointing to the benefits of a stronger defense and a better run game. Cignetti had already made the same case in his own way, taking a subtle swipe at TCU’s No. 100 rushing attack in 2025.
But there’s another layer Dykes didn’t touch. Hoover is also stepping into what should be better coaching. That’s no small thing at Indiana, where Cignetti’s first two IU quarterbacks transferred in and finished in the top 10 of the Heisman Trophy voting.
Hoover’s move also came with real financial weight. He took his reported 7-figure value to Indiana after Dykes admitted that TCU was “fundraising” last December in an effort to keep him for 2026.
And after watching TCU’s first regular-season game without him, it’s hard not to see why Hoover made the jump.
Indiana probably won’t repeat as the FBS leader in turnover margin, either. The Hoosiers finished at +22, a ridiculous number in its own right and one nobody else in the 2020s decade matched.
Their ball security run was absurd: Indiana did not lose a fumble over its final 1,047 offensive plays and 15 games, then finally coughed one up in the first quarter of its season opener. No other team since 2004 has gone more than 12 consecutive games in a season without losing a fumble.
So, yes, Hoover will probably be a little more turnover-prone than the quarterback he replaces. He may also have a couple of games where Cignetti is visibly unhappy.
But he should still be cleaner than he was at TCU, and he’ll have a real chance to be elevated by the environment around him. After Dublin, that looks like the safer bet.
In Other News...
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For a program under Curt Cignetti that has already become familiar territory for national pregame crews, it is another sign that Indiana has turned home Saturdays into appointment viewing. The Hoosiers have hosted these shows multiple times in recent years, and the opener will once again put Bloomington in the national spotlight before a snap is even played. [Read more 🡒]
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Former Indiana QB Opens Up About Facing The Hoosiers Again
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Jackson spoke during a media availability session about what it will mean to face his former team and how he has handled his winding college journey across multiple schools. He said he is focused on his mindset and on playing at a high level, and his return adds a layer of personal history to a season opener that was already going to have some attention. [Read more 🡒]