Game preview: IU football hosts Howard in second of three non-conference games

Photos from IU football's 52-16 win against North Texas at Memorial Stadium.

Indiana’s season-opening 52-16 win against North Texas showed a lot of promise for a team with sky-high expectations.

It was a near-impossible scout. North Texas featured an entirely new coaching staff, 70 new players, 50 first-year transfers and no previous games to watch. Field temperatures of 152 degrees certainly did not help either.

Regardless, Indiana showed signs of excellence and signs of concern. It was a more dominant Week 1 victory than either of the last two under Curt Cignetti. After both previous season-openers, Indiana came out with a more convincing win in Week 2. In 2024, it was a 77-3 win against FCS Western Illinois. In 2025, it was a 56-9 win against Kennesaw State.

Indiana’s Week 2 matchup should produce a similar outcome to the last two seasons as the FCS Howard Bison come to Bloomington.

Game information

Who: No. 5 Indiana (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten) vs. Howard (1-1, 0-0 MEAC)
Where: Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium
When: Saturday, September 12, 2026. 12:00 p.m. EST
TV: BTN, Jeff Levering (Play-By-Play), Jake Butt (Analyst), Brooke Fletcher (Sideline)
Radio: Don Fischer (Play-By-Play), Buck Suhr (Analyst)
The line: Indiana -56.5 (DraftKings)
SP+ prediction: Indiana 66, Howard 0 (100 percent chance of an IU win)

Meet the Bison

Saturday marks the first-ever matchup between Indiana and Howard on the gridiron.

The Bison enter with a 1-1 record after beating Alabama State 31-24 in Week 0 and losing 28-21 to Richmond in Week 1. The Bison were picked to finish last in the MEAC on the preseason poll.

Howard is led offensively by quarterback Ja’Shawn Scroggins. He leads the team in both passing and rushing yards, but has only completed 44 percent of his passes and runs for 3.1 yards per carry. Howard has only averaged 3.8 yards per carry as a team and has allowed eight sacks.

Defensively, the Bison have allowed 89 rushing yards per game and 257 passing yards per game to opponents this season.

Injury Update

Indiana was fairly roughed up on the injury front after Week 1.

Running back Khobie Martin appears to be the only long-term case with a fractured forearm he suffered early in the game. Cignetti said he is expected back around midseason.

Cignetti also considered both starting cornerbacks, Jamari Sharpe and AJ Harris, day-to-day earlier in the week. Their status is still up in the air.

Freshman tight end Trevor Gibbs and freshman defensive tackle Blake Smythe could both be back this week as well. If not this week, they’re likely back next week.

Storylines

Can Indiana take another step up?

Indiana has obliterated each of the last two FCS opponents it has played. The Hoosiers beat Western Illinois 77-3 in 2024 and Indiana State 73-0 in 2025. While the level of destruction may have been higher than some anticipated, Indiana beating up on an FCS opponent is the expectation.

Cignetti and Indiana schedule the nonconference slate to allow for development. The FCS team on the schedule is less about the win and more about lowering the stakes to work out kinks and build cohesiveness and comfort.

Cignetti came away from the North Texas win noting the good, the bad and the ugly. He’ll look to eliminate as much bad and ugly as possible in Week 2.

What young players can show out?

In Indiana’s two games against FCS opponents under Cignetti, the lead has been big enough to grant playing time to players beyond the usual rotation.

In 2024 against Western Illinois, Indiana had three quarterbacks play, 11 players record a carry and eight record a reception. In 2025 against Indiana State, three quarterbacks played, seven players recorded a carry and nine players recorded a reception.

By doing so, Indiana better understood what its depth and youth could do. Tayven Jackson was 3-for-3 passing for 104 yards and three touchdowns. He would help Indiana beat Washington later in the season after an injury sidelined Kurtis Rourke at quarterback. Charlie Becker and Khobie Martin also showed flashes of potential. It is safe to say Indiana liked what it saw.

This game will likely be a prime opportunity for younger players like Davion Chandler, Sean Cuono, Trevor Gibbs, Jacob Savage, Blake Smythe and a long list of others to show what they are capable of.

They may end up being huge pieces down the stretch.

Outlook

This game is less about the result than about the quality of play to earn it.

It would be a shock if Indiana does not convincingly blow out Howard on Saturday. The offense will likely be pretty vanilla. The defensive looks will likely be fairly plain as well.

What really matters is how clean the Hoosiers play, which younger players stand out and how healthy Indiana can come out of the week.

There should not be much question about the result of this game. Indiana will likely come out of Week 2 undefeated and in convincing fashion.

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