Game Wrap and Reaction: No. 6 Indiana 52 North Texas 16

Opponent: North Texas Mean Green

Location: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN

Why They Played

The Hoosiers and Mean Green opened the 2026 season with a non-conference game. 

What The Game Meant

It was a day of celebration in Bloomington, as the 2025 National Championship sign was unveiled. It was a chance for the Hoosiers to impress a sell out crowd and get into a rhythm early this season than in 2025.

Players of the Game

Offense

Josh Hoover, QB, Indiana

Hoover was outstanding in his debut for the Hoosiers, completing 13 of 16 passes for 231 yards and four touchdowns. More importantly, he did not turn the ball over. Hoover becomes the 26th IU QB to throw for four scores in a game. Hoover also had the visual of the game as he was bloodied on a facemask penalty when he helmet was yanked all the way around.

Charlie Becker, WR, Indiana

Becker did what he always does: make contested catches. He made four catches for 64 yards and two touchdowns.

Turbo Richard, RB, Indiana

Richard totalled 155 all-purpose yards (58 rushing, 38 receiving and 59 on kick returns) and two touchdowns. While the IU running game was mainly stuck in the mud, Richard showed what he could do in all phases of the game.

Tayven Jackson, QB, North Texas-

Jackson had a solid homecoming and showed off how much he has improved his game since leaving IU. He finished 22-28 for 192 yards. He added 22 yards on the ground.

Defense

Isaiah Jones, LB, Indiana

Jones led the Hoosiers in tackles with 12. On a day when IU’s defense was not the brick wall everyone expected, Jones cleaned up plenty of messes.

Brandon Jones, Safety, North Texas

Jones had a big game for the Mean Green. He totaled seven tackles, including one for a loss.

Special Teams Performance

The Indiana special teams kicked off the season again in 2026. This time Lee Beebe took the opening kickoff 67 yards to set up Indiana’s first touchdown. IU returned 5 kicks (they returned six all of 2024) and were so successful that North Texas had to pooch or squib kicks instead of kicking it deep. Tyler Morris had a 36-yard punt return to set up another score.

Nico Radicic set his career-long with a 49-yard field goal and connected on all seven extra points.

Punter Billy Gowers got one punt on Saturday and it went for 40 yards.

Key Stat(s)

52 on 46

Indiana’s offense was extremely efficient as they scored 52 points on 46 snaps on offense.

Turning Point

After North Texas cut Indiana’s lead to 24-13 after their first drive of the third quarter, Indiana went on a four-play, 61-yard drive to push the lead to 31-13 and never really looked back.

I Knew it Was Over When…

When Indiana went up 14-0 late in the first quarter, pushing the lead to two scores. While Indiana struggled until later in the game, North Texas never got the game within one score after that.

What I Took Away From the Game

It was great to get back into Memorial Stadium for a regular season game and the pregame party was nearly as hot as the weather. The ceremony for the championship sign gave me goosebumps, even if Coach Cignetti did not see the sign today.

The product on the field was more or less what I expected from IU in the first game of the season under Cignetti. While the Hoosiers won 52-16, they were not at the sharpest,especially on defense.

The Indiana offense was deadly and the early returns on Josh Hoover may have Hoosier fans dreaming of another winter night in New York City for the Heisman Trophy ceremony. He was ultra efficient throwing for four scores and completing 81 percent of his passes. There was maybe one forced throw, but Brock Schott came down with it for a 25-yard gain.

Hoover showed his toughness after throwing a touchdown one play after getting his face bloodied due to a facemasking penalty.

Indiana’s weapons at receiver were as good as advertised. Nick Marsh made a highlight reel one-haded catch for an 15-yard touchdown, while Becker finished with 64 yards and two touchdowns and Tyler Morris had three catches for 35 yards. Davion Chandler had a 43-yard catch-and-run touchdown for his only catch as well.

The Indiana run game was not where I thought it would be. In total they ran the ball 30 times for just 134 yards. 43 of those yards came on a garbage time run by Grant Wilson.

The defense was the most shocking thing of the day. A unit that was expected to be one of the top in the nation struggled to make tackles and get off the field. While they were much better in the second half, North Texas still possessed the ball for 37:22.

Indiana was hit with the injury bug as well. The Hoosiers lost running back Khobie Martin and both starting cornerbacks, AJ Harris and Jamari Sharpe, to injury. Cignetti did say he expects the cornerbacks to be back, but he also said that Martin will be out “a little bit,” in his postgame press conference. 

What’s Next

IU is 1-0 on the season with plenty to clean up, but the 52-16 margin of victory coupled with the play of Josh Hoover has the runway ready for takeoff. The Hoosiers will take on the Howard Bison next Saturday at 12pm ET in Bloomington.