College football is back, and Indiana opens its title defense with a matchup that looks lopsided on paper from the jump.
The No. 6 Hoosiers welcome North Texas to Bloomington on Saturday at noon at Memorial Stadium, with FOX set to carry the game. It’s the first step in Indiana’s 2026 season, and the defending national champions are expected to roll into the opener as one of the biggest favorites on the board.
The two programs haven’t crossed paths often. Saturday will be only the third meeting between Indiana and North Texas, with the teams splitting the first two matchups on their home fields in 2011 and 2014.
North Texas arrives after the best season in program history, but the Mean Green are a very different team now. They went 12-2 in 2025, won the American Athletic Conference and cracked the final AP Top 25 for the first time ever, yet much of that group is gone. Former head coach Eric Morris left for Oklahoma State and took several key players with him, including quarterback Drew Mestemaker.
That reset led to major change in Denton. North Texas has added more than 50 transfers and brought in a new coaching staff, with Neal Brown taking over as the 21st head coach in program history in December of last year.
Brown brings plenty of head-coaching experience. He spent 10 seasons at Troy and West Virginia, going 72-51 overall, reaching seven bowls and winning five.
At Troy, he put together three 10-win seasons, won a Sun Belt title and earned Sun Belt Coach of the Year honors in 2017. His run at West Virginia was far less smooth, as he finished 37-35 before being let go after the 2024 season.
One of the more familiar names on the North Texas side is at quarterback. Former IU quarterback Tayven Jackson is expected to start for the Mean Green when he returns to Bloomington.
Jackson, the younger brother of former Indiana basketball standout Trayce Jackson-Davis, spent last season at UCF and got the most extended action of his career there. At 6-4, 210 pounds, he brings size, a strong arm and enough mobility to help move the chains.
Even with Jackson under center, the expectation is that North Texas will take a step back after such a historic season and so much roster turnover.
Indiana, meanwhile, starts the year with far loftier goals and far higher expectations. Curt Cignetti’s team enters at No. 6 after winning the national championship, and the numbers point strongly toward a fast start.
Indiana opened game week as a 40.5-point favorite. ESPN’s Football Power Index gives the Hoosiers a 98.2% chance to win, while ranking IU sixth nationally and North Texas 91st. SP+ is even more bullish, projecting a 47-7 Indiana win and assigning the Hoosiers a 99% chance of leaving Memorial Stadium with a victory.
Brandon Brown sees the Hoosiers pressing their advantage all afternoon.
"The Hoosiers absolutely blasted several teams last year. I know it's not 2025 anymore, but Curt Cignetti has shown that he won't take it easy on anyone. He wants his team to perform at a high level for four quarters.
Last season, Indiana beat Kennesaw State by 47 points and they blanked Indiana State 73-0. In the Big Ten, IU beat then No. 9-ranked Illinois by 53, UCLA by 50 and Purdue by 53, in West Lafayette. That tells me that Cignetti and Co. will not relent regardless of the opponent."
His prediction: Indiana 55, North Texas 10.
Zack Besaw also expects Indiana to control the game with depth, physicality and a balanced attack.
He projects the Hoosiers to dictate the pace early, lean on a disciplined running game and create room for vertical throws while the defense makes life difficult for North Texas. Besaw also noted that the Mean Green could have some success with tempo, but said sustained drives will be tough against Indiana’s aggressive defense.
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Indianas Season Opener Just Got Another National Stage
Indianas 2026 season opener against North Texas is already drawing a bigger spotlight than most opening-week games get, with FOXs Big Noon Kickoff set to broadcast live from the South Lawn outside Memorial Stadium in Bloomington. The pregame build-up will turn into an all-morning event, starting with a tailgate at 7:30 a.m. ET, followed by a Barstool pregame show at 9:00 a.m. and then the main Big Noon Kickoff broadcast at 10:00 a.m. ET.
For a program under Curt Cignetti that has spent the last stretch getting used to national attention, this is becoming part of the routine rather than the exception. Indiana has hosted multiple national pregame shows in recent years, and the return of another major TV stage only reinforces how much the Hoosiers profile has risen heading into another season opener in Bloomington. [Read more 🡒]
Former Indiana QB Opens Up About Facing The Hoosiers Again
Indiana footballs 2026 opener already has a little extra edge to it, and not just because the Hoosiers will be welcoming North Texas to Memorial Stadium at noon ET. The matchup will bring former Indiana quarterback Tayven Jackson back to Bloomington, this time as the Mean Greens starter, adding an unusual layer of familiarity to a game that otherwise opens the new season.
Jackson spent his media availability reflecting on the path that led him to this point, including his time at multiple schools and the way each stop shaped his college career. He also addressed his mindset heading into the reunion with his old program, which makes the season opener feel like more than a routine nonconference game for both sides. [Read more 🡒]
Former Hoosier Kaelon Black Is Suddenly In Line For Early NFL Snaps
Kaelon Blacks rise has been one of the quieter storylines of the summer, but it has put the former Hoosier in a striking spot as the NFL season opens. The San Francisco 49ers took him with the 90th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, kept him on the 53-man roster, and now have him listed as the second running back on their unofficial Week 1 depth chart after a strong run through training camp and preseason.
For a player who arrived with some intrigue but not a spotlight, that is a meaningful climb. Black now appears positioned to be the primary backup to Christian McCaffrey, which puts him one play away from a much larger role than many expected when the summer began. The next question is how much of that confidence from the 49ers will translate once the games count for real. [Read more 🡒]