Indiana’s offense wasted no time setting the tone Saturday in Bloomington, and the passing game did most of the heavy lifting in a 52-16 win over North Texas at Memorial Stadium. The Hoosiers finished with 21 straight points in the fourth quarter to put the game away, but the bigger takeaway was how smoothly the new-look passing attack operated from the jump.
Redshirt senior quarterback Josh Hoover, stepping in as the replacement for now-graduated reigning Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, looked sharp from his very first snap. His opening throw in a Hoosier uniform was a 15-yard touchdown to junior wide receiver Nick Marsh on a perfectly placed back-shoulder ball just 1:24 into the game.
Hoover didn’t need a huge workload to control the night, finishing 13 of 16 for 231 passing yards and four touchdowns while posting a 284.4 passer rating. Even seventh-year backup quarterback Grant Wilson got in on the scoring late, ripping off a 43-yard rushing touchdown with 1:47 left in the fourth quarter.
The receivers gave Hoover plenty of help. Junior Charlie Becker paced Indiana with four catches for 64 yards and two touchdowns, while Marsh’s stat line only showed two receptions for 17 yards.
That doesn’t tell the whole story, though, because Marsh also hauled in a spectacular one-handed catch to start the scoring and was heavily involved as a blocker in the run game. Sophomore Davion Chandler had just one target, but he made it count with a 42-yard touchdown that pushed Indiana to a 38-16 lead at the start of the fourth quarter.
Indiana’s ground game, by contrast, left more to be desired. Redshirt sophomore Khobie Martin, whom head coach Curt Cignetti called a “starter” after the game, went down with a shoulder injury in the first quarter and did not return.
With Martin out, junior Turbo Richard and redshirt senior Lee Beebe Jr. split the load, with Richard carrying 15 times and Beebe Jr. getting 14 attempts. The pair combined for 99 rushing yards and averaged just 3.4 yards per carry, although Richard did score twice.
The offensive line held up well enough against a North Texas defense that stacked seven defenders in the box for much of the game to try to shut down Indiana’s run-pass option. The Hoosiers didn’t give up a sack, and Hoover had time to work comfortably in the pocket.
Still, the unit wasn’t spotless. A holding call on graduate student Bray Lynch wiped out what would have been a 43-yard touchdown run by Beebe Jr. in the first quarter.
On the other side of the ball, Indiana’s defensive front had a quieter afternoon than expected despite constant rotation. Graduate student Tyrique Tucker and junior Mario Landino combined for one sack, two total tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss, with Tucker drawing double teams for much of the game.
Redshirt senior Tobi Osunsanmi had four tackles and graduate student Josh Burnham added three. Fifth-years Kellan Wyatt and Stephen Daley, both ruled eligible to play in the opener Friday, saw little action.
Wyatt didn’t play a snap, and Daley logged 13 of the 71 defensive snaps and finished with one tackle.
The linebackers were steadier. Redshirt senior Isaiah Jones and junior Rolijah Hardy anchored a group that piled up 23 tackles, with those two responsible for 19 of them. North Texas found some success early with crossing routes, but Indiana tightened up in pass defense as the game went on and did a better job finishing plays.
The secondary had a tougher day to sort through because redshirt senior Jamari Sharpe and senior A.J. Harris both left with minor injuries in the first quarter and did not return.
That forced graduate student Ryland Gandy, seventh-year Preston Zachman and sophomore Jaylen Bell into heavier rotation. Bell tackled well on the perimeter and was solid in coverage, but Gandy and Zachman had struggles.
Senior defensive back Amare Ferrell also had issues, arriving late in coverage and missing a number of tackles. One bright spot came from sophomore defensive back Byron Baldwin Jr., who set a career high with seven tackles.
North Texas fifth-year quarterback Tayven Jackson still found openings, completing 22 of 28 passes for 192 yards.
The cleanest work of the day came on special teams. Beebe Jr. opened things with a 67-yard return on the game’s first play, snatching the ball out of the air in front of Richard and setting up the early touchdown drive.
Richard added a 41-yard kick return later, and graduate student Tyler Morris chipped in a 36-yard punt return. Senior kicker Nico Radicic also delivered, drilling his lone attempt of the day from 49 yards late in the second quarter for a career long that made it a three-possession game.
In Other News...
Trayce Jackson-Davis Revisited One Indiana Decision That Still Stings
Trayce Jackson-Davis is still one of the defining players of Indianas recent era, and his reflection on his college career showed how deliberate his path really was. After a strong senior season, he decided not to take advantage of the extra year of eligibility created by COVID-19, feeling he had already said all he needed to say in Bloomington. Even as he settled into his role, he kept expanding his game, adding more playmaking and ball-handling in his final season as Mike Woodson pushed him to grow beyond being just a scorer.
What lingers for Jackson-Davis now is less about leaving early than about one skill he never fully unlocked. He said he wishes he had developed his three-point shot more in college, a notable regret considering how little he used it across his Indiana career. It is the kind of hindsight that comes with time, especially for a player who did so much right for the Hoosiers, but it also leaves open the question of how much more versatile his game might have looked if he had stayed just a little longer. [Read more 🡒]
Curt Cignetti Is Chasing Another Massive Receiver Win For Indiana
Curt Cignetti is already working to keep Indianas recruiting momentum rolling into the 2028 cycle, and one of the biggest names on the board is five-star wide receiver Braylon Clark. Clark has trimmed his list to 12 finalists, with Indiana making the cut alongside national powers such as Ohio State and Oregon, a sign that the Hoosiers are at least in the conversation for one of the classs premier pass-catchers.
Indiana is trying to set up an official visit for Clark as it looks to turn that early interest into something more concrete. The Hoosiers currently have one commitment in the 2028 class, so landing a player of Clarks caliber would be another major statement after the programs strong 2027 recruiting push and a reminder that Cignetti is not slowing down on the trail. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Just Reached A Huge Recruiting Moment With Elite WR Prospect
Braylon Clarks recruitment is already moving like one of those national battles that never really cools off, and the elite 2028 wide receiver has now trimmed his list to 12 schools. Ranked No. 6 in his class by Rivals, Clark has spent plenty of time on the road taking visits, and the early shape of his process suggests he is weighing a mix of national contenders rather than locking in on one region or conference.
Ohio State sits near the front of the pack in Rivals insider predictions, but the race still appears wide open enough to keep several SEC and ACC programs firmly in the mix. For programs tracking the receiver board far beyond their own borders, the next stretch of Clarks recruitment figures to be all about separation, relationships, and which staff can stay in striking distance as the competition tightens. [Read more 🡒]