Indiana football’s title defense kept rolling Saturday at Memorial Stadium, and this time the Hoosiers barely let Howard breathe.
After opening the season with a win over North Texas, Indiana returned home and delivered a 55-0 shutout that looked comfortable from start to finish. The level of opposition matters, of course, but the takeaway from this one was hard to miss: the defense was sharper, the gap control cleaner, and the whole operation looked more locked in than it did a week ago. Howard managed just four first downs all day.
Rolijah Hardy and the Indiana defense set the tone by making the game feel suffocating early and often. On the other side, QB Josh Hoover was solid but not as crisp or accurate as he had been in Week 1.
Even so, Charlie Becker kept making plays anyway, hauling in three touchdown catches on throws that weren’t always perfect. A couple of those grabs only reinforced the idea that he’s arguably the best WR in the country.
Curt Cignetti addressed the media after the game, and Inside the Hall also posted a photo gallery from the afternoon. Ian Plaskoff added a column focused on the improvements Indiana showed this week. Earlier in the week, the program had its usual round of media availability, with Cignetti giving his weekly press conference and radio show, while Hardy and Becker both spoke as well.
Around the Big Ten, the week produced a mixed bag despite some eye-catching matchups. Michigan and Iowa came through with major power-four wins, and UCLA handled San Diego State in solid fashion.
But several league teams stumbled in the bigger tests. Oregon took an embarrassing loss to Oklahoma State, who had been on a long losing streak, and Ohio State gave away a 20-point lead late against Texas.
There were other setbacks, too. Illinois was edged by Duke, Minnesota was blown out by Mississippi State, Purdue lost a heartbreaker to Wake Forest, and Rutgers fell by a narrow margin to Boston College.
In basketball news, Sam Alexis landed on Lindy’s Sports’ regional cover that will be sold in Indiana, even though IU still doesn’t know whether he’ll receive a fifth year of eligibility as his case works through the courts.
Inside the Hall also took a look at the Big Ten basketball landscape, breaking down where every team stands after a wave of roster turnover across the conference, including at Indiana.
The Back Home Network was busy throughout the week as well, with several shows airing across its lineup.
And in the rest of the Hoosier sports world, men’s soccer opened Big Ten play with a win over Michigan after a dominant performance against Denver earlier in the week. Women’s soccer beat Ohio on the road and then started conference play with a dramatic late victory at Nebraska.
Field hockey topped Central Michigan and Cornell. Volleyball beat Southern Indiana, Cal Poly, and Eastern Illinois, but .
Baseball’s fall exhibition work is underway. Swimming and diving had three Hoosiers named to the U.S.
Junior National Team. Rowing also added to its coaching staff.
In Other News...
Charlie Becker Has A Real Heisman Case Indiana Fans Should Notice
Charlie Becker has been one of the early surprises in Indianas season, piling up 145 receiving yards and five touchdowns through two games despite seeing limited playing time. For a Hoosiers offense still sorting itself out, that kind of production has been impossible to ignore, especially when it comes from a player who has made such a quick impact on the field and already climbed onto the Heisman conversation board.
Becker is sitting 45th on DraftKings Sportsbooks odds list at +16000, which is long-shot territory but still enough to get attention if the production keeps coming. The real test is still ahead, though, with Big Ten play set to bring a different level of physicality and scrutiny. If Becker keeps finding space and staying this efficient once conference defenses start keying on him, Indiana fans may have reason to keep one eye on the standings and another on a bigger national race. [Read more 🡒]
Indianas Rise Just Added Real Juice To The Big Ten Race
Indianas latest rout did more than pad the scoreboard, it nudged the Hoosiers another step up the national ladder and into a more prominent spot in the Big Ten conversation. After a 55-0 win over Howard, Indiana climbed one place in the US LBM Coaches Poll, a move that comes at a moment when the conference picture suddenly looks a lot different after Ohio States loss to Texas.
The ranking surge gives the Hoosiers a new kind of visibility, especially with the season still taking shape and the top 25 starting to settle around a fresh pecking order. The coaches poll panel continues to serve as one of the clearest weekly snapshots of how the sport views Indiana, and the next few polls will show whether this rise is just a strong early push or the start of something bigger. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Freshmen Are Already Pushing For Bigger Hoosiers Roles
Indianas second win over Howard brought more than another check in the standings for the Hoosiers. It also offered a first look at several true freshmen on offense, with Jayreon Campbell, Parker Elmore, Lavar Keys and Kenton Mondeau all getting their first college game snaps as the staff kept widening the circle early in the season.
Campbell showed enough in his limited work to hint at a bigger role down the road, while Mondeau and Sam Simpson led first-year players in snaps as Indiana continued sorting out who can help fastest. On the other side of the ball, linebacker Jacob Savage keeps making a case of his own, following up his earlier showing with a disruptive day that included 1.5 tackles for loss and his first sack. [Read more 🡒]