Offensive efficiency powers IU football past North Texas in season opener

• Ian Plaskoff

• 39m ago

 

In the blazing heat, 54,493 fans packed into Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium for the first Indiana home game since November of 2025.

Ten minutes before kickoff, they all looked to the south end zone. A curtain rose to reveal a strip of text mounted on the wall in bold black capital letters.

“NATIONAL CHAMPIONS 2025”

That signage was only the center of attention for a matter of moments.

When the 2026 Indiana squad ran out of the tunnel to face North Texas minutes later, the lasting impression of the 2025 team became irrelevant. The first impression of the 2026 team is what the sold-out crowd came to see.

In the Hoosiers’ 52-16 win against the Mean Green, the first impression was far from perfect, but Week 1 games rarely are.

“It’s good to win,” Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti said postgame. “There will be a lot of critiques, for sure.”

Perhaps the most promising element of Indiana’s victory was the efficiency on offense.

Indiana scored on eight of its nine drives, with seven of the eight scores being touchdowns. With the help of 175 punt and kick return yards, Indiana, on average, began drives at its own 47-yard line. From there, the Hoosiers averaged five plays, 2:27 of time off the clock and 41 yards per drive. Indiana scored its 52 points while only possessing the ball for 22 minutes and 38 seconds.

Quarterback Josh Hoover, in his Indiana debut, was the catalyst.

“I thought he played well,” Cignetti said. “I’m sure he earned the respect of his teammates based on his performance today. He’s a veteran. I’m glad he had a good opener.”

Hoover’s first pass attempt as a Hoosier was a tremendous touchdown to Michigan State transfer Nick Marsh, also making his Indiana debut.

Hoover began 6-for-6 on completions for 98 yards and two touchdowns. He finished 13-for-16 for 231 yards and four touchdown passes. One incompletion was a spike to avoid a loss on a screen play. Another was a deep ball that was caught out of bounds.

Seven different players caught passes and three caught touchdowns. Charlie Becker led the way with four catches for 64 yards and two touchdowns. The run game struggled, but Hoover’s excellence was more than enough to suffice.

He was in command the whole day.

“I think my goal today was to come out here and just execute our offense, the plays that were called,” Hoover said. “All we had to do was just do our job, do our one of 11 like coach says and that’s all I was trying to do. Just get those guys chances and they made plays.”

Indiana’s offense was so efficient, that it might have been too efficient.

With a reported field temperature of 158 degrees, Indiana’s defense was on the field for 37 minutes and 22 seconds of game time. Despite only giving up 16 points, it struggled to get off the field. Indiana gave up 367 total yards and 152 rushing yards. It did have seven tackles for loss and a sack.

Both starting cornerbacks, Jamari Sharpe and AJ Harris, left the game early due to injury. Heat played a major role as well.

For Indiana, the standard remains the standard and it was not met.

“It’s hot, but you know, when you go into games like that, both teams are going through that. So you’re going to have to put that out of your mind,” Indiana linebacker Isaiah Jones said. “Their offense is going through it. Their defense is going through it. It’s who’s going to be more mentally tough. The defense left the field unsatisfied in how we played. We beat ourselves on some plays and we’ve got to get off the field quicker.”

Defense was not the only blemish on Saturday. Indiana’s run game struggled as Turbo Richard and Lee Beebe Jr. combined for only 91 yards on 29 carries. Richard did have two touchdowns and Beebe Jr. had a 43-yard touchdown called back for holding.

Khobie Martin left with an injury that will force him to miss time.

Compared to the other two season-openers in Cignetti’s tenure, this one was the most dominant showing on the scoreboard. It may not have looked like it, especially on defense, but there were signs of excellence.

There are also some questions to ask.

How will the defense respond? How much of an impact did the heat have? How much more can the offense grow? How significant are the injuries?

That is why Week 1 exists – to deliver the first impression and allow questions to be asked.

That is also why there are 11 more games – to answer those questions.

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