Josh Hoover’s Indiana debut had a little bit of everything: a violent hit, a bloody face, and then a fast reminder of why Curt Cignetti went and got him in the transfer portal.
The Hoosiers’ new quarterback took a shot early Saturday at Memorial Stadium that spun his helmet around and ripped it off before it hit the turf. He lay on the Merchants Bank Field grass for a moment, the sold-out crowd going quiet as it waited to see whether he’d get up.
He did, with blood still trickling down his face and a chin strap stained red. He stayed in the game.
“I feel like he got that warrior spirit,” junior running back Turbo Richard said after the game. “You know, that’s also inspirational to see.
Even myself, If I’m hurt... just look at Josh (Hoover). Like he’s playing with a bloody face.
So, it was like, ‘Yeah, I gotta keep going.’”
Three plays later, Hoover delivered the kind of answer coaches love: a 9-yard touchdown strike to junior wide receiver Charlie Becker. It was one of four touchdown passes in Indiana’s 52-16 win over North Texas, and it set the tone for a debut that looked calm, sharp and fully in control.
Hoover came to Indiana with plenty on his résumé. In four seasons at Texas Christian University, he piled up 9,629 passing yards, the most by any active FBS quarterback in a career.
He was stepping into the role vacated by Fernando Mendoza, whose first Indiana start last year was not the kind of opener fans may have imagined. Mendoza finished 18 of 31 for 193 yards and no touchdowns against Old Dominion University before going on to win the Heisman Trophy and become the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Hoover’s first game in cream and crimson looked a lot cleaner. Cignetti called the performance “sharp,” and the numbers backed it up: 13 of 16, 231 yards and four touchdowns. He did not throw an incompletion until less than two minutes remained in the second quarter.
His first regular-season throw as a Hoosier turned into six points. After Lee Beebe Jr. ripped off a 67-yard kickoff return to put Indiana at the North Texas 20, the Hoosiers handed the ball to Turbo Richard twice and faced third and 5. Hoover then targeted Michigan State transfer Nick Marsh on the back shoulder, and Marsh reached down with one arm to haul in a 15-yard touchdown.
Becker became Hoover’s favorite target after that. He caught the quarterback’s second touchdown pass, then the third, and both helped stretch Indiana’s lead.
The first came on the 9-yard throw after Hoover’s face-mask scare. The second was a 35-yard strike down the sideline with about 10 minutes left in the third quarter, when Becker adjusted to the ball and finished the play to make it 31-13.
Hoover’s best throw may have come on the play before that touchdown. Under pressure on third and 9, he rolled right and fired downfield to sophomore tight end Brock Schott for a 25-yard gain in traffic.
“Brock made a great catch,” Hoover said. “Probably not one that I’d like to try and do a lot of the time.
But, got away with it right there and I think, you know, made a play on a crucial down, crucial drive, scored the next play. So, it was a big play for the sequence of events in the game.”
Hoover finished his night with one more touchdown, finding sophomore wide receiver Davion Chandler on a 42-yard score when Chandler slipped free down the middle and Hoover hit him in stride. With the game well in hand, seventh-year quarterback Grant Wlson took over in the fourth quarter.
For Hoover, the opener was encouraging, but not the finish line.
“We’re still early on in this process,” he said. “You know, I’ve only had, and it’s our first game and probably had 30 practices, right? So, it’s just to continue to develop in the offense and understanding every single detail of the offense.”
Indiana will be back on the field against Howard University at noon Sept. 12 on Big Ten Network.
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