Five takeaways from IU football’s 52-16 win against North Texas

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

Indiana football opened its national championship defense with a 52-16 win against North Texas on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.

The Hoosiers scored on eight of their nine offensive possessions, including seven touchdowns and never trailed. Josh Hoover threw four touchdown passes in his Indiana debut, while the Hoosiers benefited from strong field position throughout the afternoon.

It wasn’t perfect, particularly defensively, but Indiana accomplished its first objective of the season and gave Curt Cignetti plenty to critique and evaluate.

Here are five takeaways from the Hoosiers’ season-opening win:

Josh Hoover looks further along than Indiana’s previous transfer quarterbacks did early on

Curt Cignetti has opened each of his three seasons at Indiana with a different quarterback, each arriving via the transfer portal. Through one game, Josh Hoover looked the most comfortable of the three from the start.

Kurtis Rourke completed 15-of-24 passes for 180 yards and one touchdown in his Indiana debut against Florida International in 2024. Fernando Mendoza followed by going 18-for-31 for 193 yards without a passing touchdown against Old Dominion last season.

Hoover finished Saturday 13-for-16 for 231 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.

That doesn’t mean Hoover will have a better season than Rourke, who eventually led Indiana to the College Football Playoff, or Mendoza, who won the Heisman Trophy and a national championship. But Hoover’s production in the opener is a strong starting point.

He looked poised in the pocket, consistently delivered the ball downfield and rarely appeared uncomfortable operating Indiana’s offense. He had more touchdown passes than incompletions.

Then came the moment that said more than the numbers.

Hoover had his helmet ripped off on a facemask penalty in the second quarter, leaving his face bloodied. He remained in the game and, three plays later, found Charlie Becker for a nine-yard touchdown.

“I’m sure he earned the respect of his teammates based on his performance today,” Cignetti said afterward.

Hoover already arrived in Bloomington with considerably more starting experience than Mendoza had a year ago. Saturday offered the first indication of what that experience could look like when paired with Cignetti’s system.

Indiana set the tone from the opening kickoff

Cignetti spent part of the offseason pointing back to Indiana’s sluggish start against Old Dominion last season.

The Monarchs scored a 75-yard touchdown on the first play of the game and Indiana didn’t score an offensive touchdown until late in the second quarter. Cignetti wanted something different Saturday.

Lee Beebe Jr. returned the opening kickoff 67 yards and Hoover found Nick Marsh for a one-handed touchdown catch three plays later. Indiana led 7-0 just 1:24 into the opener.

“That’s one of the things we talked about in the locker room,” Cignetti said, explaining that Indiana wanted to “start a little better than last year.”

The fast start carried over to the rest of the afternoon.

Indiana scored on eight of its nine drives, with seven ending in touchdowns. Its average possession lasted only five plays and 2:27, yet the Hoosiers still scored 52 points.

The offense averaged just 41 yards per possession, largely because it rarely had far to travel. Indiana’s average drive began at its own 47-yard line.

It was a different kind of offensive dominance from the one Indiana showed at times last season. The Hoosiers only possessed the ball for 22:38, but when they had it, they rarely wasted an opportunity.

The offensive skill-position talent is plentiful

Indiana replaced plenty of production at the skill positions this offseason, but Saturday showed how many options Hoover has around him.

Becker was the most productive receiver, catching four passes for 64 yards and two touchdowns. Marsh’s final numbers weren’t overwhelming, but his first reception in an Indiana uniform was the one-handed touchdown grab that opened the scoring.

Turbo Richard also showed the versatility that made him such a significant portal addition. The Boston College transfer rushed 15 times for 58 yards and two touchdowns while adding a 38-yard reception.

Beebe Jr. found less room on the ground, finishing with 33 yards on 14 carries, but his 67-yard return on the opening kickoff immediately changed the game.

The rushing numbers as a whole won’t jump off the page. Before backup quarterback Grant Wilson’s late 43-yard touchdown run, Indiana was below 100 rushing yards.

But the talent was evident.

Indiana doesn’t necessarily need one player to replicate the production it lost from last year’s offense, but Saturday suggested it has enough weapons to spread that production around.

Defensive tackling left plenty to be desired

The final score doesn’t completely reflect the afternoon Indiana’s defense had.

North Texas finished with 367 total yards, two more than Indiana and had possession for 37:22. The Mean Green averaged 3:43 per possession and consistently extended drives, forcing Indiana’s defense to remain on the field.

Cignetti saw the same issues.

“I didn’t think we played real well on defense,” he said afterward, specifically mentioning poor tackling on the perimeter.

Indiana struggled at times to finish tackles in space and allowed North Texas to turn short plays into extended possessions.

The Hoosiers also generated only one sack, which came on North Texas’ opening possession.

There is an important qualifier.

Starting cornerbacks A.J. Harris and Jamari Sharpe both left during the first quarter and did not return, forcing Indiana to play most of the afternoon without two important pieces of its secondary.

Cignetti provided encouraging news afterward, saying both “will be back” and that neither injury is considered long-term.

Their absences help explain some of the defensive issues, but tackling will still be an obvious emphasis when Indiana reviews Saturday’s film.

Special teams constantly put Indiana in position to succeed

Indiana’s offense was efficient Saturday, but special teams made its job significantly easier.

The Hoosiers totaled 139 kickoff return yards, beginning with Beebe Jr.’s 67-yard return to open the game. Richard later provided another strong return that gave Indiana possession at its own 49 before Hoover’s second touchdown pass.

Tyler Morris added 36 yards as the IU punt returner.

Combined, those returns played a major role in Indiana beginning its nine possessions, on average, at its own 47-yard line. That kind of field position changes an offense.

Indiana didn’t need long, methodical drives to score. Its average possession lasted five plays, 2:27 and 41 yards. Even while losing the time-of-possession battle by nearly 15 minutes, the Hoosiers consistently started in advantageous spots and capitalized.

Kicker Nico Radicic was a perfect 7-of-7 on extra points and added a 49-yard field goal, a new career long. The senior’s previous long was a 46-yarder at Iowa in 2025.

Australian-born punter Billy Gowers stepped on the turf just one time, flipping the field with a 40-yard boot.

Cignetti called Indiana’s special teams “solid” afterward and specifically pointed to the explosive plays in the kickoff return game.

For a team replacing key pieces throughout its offense, having special teams consistently shorten the field could become another way Indiana makes life easier for Hoover.

Indiana returns to Memorial Stadium next Saturday against Howard. Kickoff is set for Noon ET on BTN.

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