Game preview: IU football to begin national title defense in season-opener against North Texas

Photos of IU football vs. Wisconsin at Memorial Stadium.

Indiana begins its national title defense on Saturday as North Texas comes to Bloomington to begin the 2026 season.

The Hoosiers are ranked No. 6 in the preseason AP top-25 and are picked to finish third in the Big Ten.

Indiana lost a lot of talent from the 2025 roster, but retained even more. To fill the gaps, Indiana hit the transfer portal and got more experienced, bigger and stronger players. The eyes of the college football world will be on Bloomington all season long and a target will be on Indiana’s back all fall.

It all starts against the Mean Green on Saturday.

Game information

Who: No. 6 Indiana (0-0, 0-0 Big Ten) vs. North Texas (0-0, 0-0 American)
Where: Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium
When: Saturday, September 5, 2026. 12:00 p.m. EST
TV: FOX, Gus Johnson (Play-By-Play), Joel Klatt (Analyst), Jenny Taft (Sideline Reporter)
Radio: Don Fischer (Play-By-Play), Buck Suhr (Analyst)
The line: Indiana -40.5 (DraftKings)
SP+ prediction: Indiana 47, North Texas 7 (99 percent chance of an IU win)

Meet the Mean Green

In 2025, North Texas had a stellar 11-1 regular season under head coach Eric Morris. The Mean Green lost to Tulane in the AAC Championship Game, ending their hopes of a CFP bid. They did end their season on a positive note with a New Mexico Bowl victory over San Diego State.

The 2025 Mean Green offense led the nation in yards per game, points per game and touchdowns. Quarterback Drew Mestemaker led the FBS in passing yards. Running back Caleb Hawkins led the FBS in rushing touchdowns and was fifth in rushing yards. Wideout Wyatt Young was third in the nation in receiving yards and 12th in receiving touchdowns. The historic offense was more than enough to supplement an average defense.

One small issue: It is impossible to reference just about anything North Texas did a season ago for the purpose of discussing this year’s Mean Green squad.

Morris took the head coaching job at Oklahoma State and took his talent with him. Former Troy and West Virginia head coach Neal Brown is tasked with the rebuild in Denton.

Brown takes on his first head coaching role since 2024, when he was fired at West Virginia. Across 10 seasons as a head coach at Troy and West Virginia, he sported a 72-51 record with seven bowl appearances and five bowl victories. He had three 10+ win seasons and won the 2017 Sun Belt Conference title and Sun Belt coach of the year award.

North Texas returns only 7 percent of its snaps from 2025. The Mean Green have 70-plus newcomers, including 50-plus transfers. North Texas’ 22 starting spots on offense and defense feature 20 newcomers. It is the second-oldest team in the FBS with an average age of 21.01 years.

Former Hoosier Tayven Jackson will be back in the spotlight in Bloomington as North Texas’ starting quarterback. He spent the 2025 season at UCF, where he threw for 2151 yards, 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 11 games and completed 65.3 percent of his passes.

Injury Update

Cignetti said on Monday that Indiana is completely healthy except freshman tight end Trevor Gibbs, who will be questionable for Saturday. The official Big Ten availability report will be released at 10 a.m. ET, two hours before kickoff, on Saturday.

Storylines

The debut of Josh Hoover

Fernando Mendoza captured the hearts of Hoosier Nation last season as Indiana’s quarterback.

Now, with Mendoza off to the NFL, Indiana turns to Josh Hoover to replace him.

Hoover transferred from TCU after three seasons with the Horned Frogs, where he threw for nearly 10,000 yards and 80 touchdowns. He did have turnover problems, throwing 33 interceptions across his three seasons.

Indiana feels confident in Hoover. Cignetti has said the passing game is further along now than it was at this point last season. Hoover has taken on a leadership role and improved immensely through fall camp. He’ll have weapons and an incredible offensive line to work with as well.

There is a lot of talk about Hoover replacing Fernando Mendoza. Indiana is only looking for Hoover to be the best Hoover he can be.

How clean can Indiana play?

Both of Cignetti’s season-openers at Indiana have not been pretty. In 2024 against FIU, Indiana’s passing game was inconsistent and the defense looked sloppy. The Hoosiers took a 21-7 lead into the half and won 31-7.

In 2025, Indiana was inside the 10-yard line six times but scored only 20 points on those possessions. A dominant showing statistically resulted in a 27-14 win against Old Dominion.

The first game of the year is not an indicator of how an entire season will go. Indiana has made that abundantly clear over the last two seasons. It is the first time players go against someone other than their teammate. It can propel on-field chemistry and confidence if things go right.

Part of the reason Indiana schedules weaker opponents on its nonconference slate is to work out those kinks.

Putting a bow on 2025

Indiana will put the final touches on the 2025 national championship season while still reaping its benefits.

Indiana has sold out all of its home games for the first time since 1969. Five years ago, it would have been ludicrous to say that Indiana was selling out nonconference games. That will be the case on Saturday.

Indiana will reveal national championship signage inside Memorial Stadium and have trophy tours for sale. It will likely be the final time the 2025 season is acknowledged.

Outlook

To be blunt, it will be a tall task for North Texas to come out of Bloomington victorious.

Indiana brings continuity, experience and confidence out of fall camp as it aims to defend its first national title. The Hoosiers are more experienced than they were a season ago. They are bigger. They are stronger. They are coached to never waver in their intensity regardless of whatever situation they may be in.

While Indiana may take some time to find its chemistry on the field, as has been the case in Week 1 each of the last two seasons, its pure talent should be enough to earn plenty of wiggle room to get comfortable.

The beginning of the Neal Brown era may see some bumps and roadblocks. It is not easy to quickly assemble a roster of 70-plus new players. On the flip side, North Texas does have individual talent on the roster. Nobody other than them has seen what their players are capable of. The beauty of college football is being able to ask “what if?” when the unknown reigns supreme.

Regardless, with Cignetti at the helm, it is a guarantee Indiana will treat this game the same as it does a national championship game. That has been the case for every game over the last two seasons. It tends to go well. It should be the case again on Saturday.

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