Prior to Saturday’s week one kickoff at Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium, 47,000 fans looked to the sky in anticipation. White towels speckled the crowd, ‘I-U’ chants roared, and Hoosier the Bison glided in from the sky, signaling a new era of Indiana football.
It is a new era filled with anticipation, attention and expectations. A new era that aims to sustain and build upon success immediately. Eleven seconds into this new era, many of the same 47,000 fans looked to the sky again, this time in frustration and disbelief, as Old Dominion quarterback Colton Joseph bolted to the end zone on the first play from scrimmage.
Despite a 27-14 win over Old Dominion, miscues and mistakes left No. 20 Indiana unsatisfied. They signal that more time is necessary to meet their own high expectations. It was evident that game one did not provide enough.
“It was a win, but it wasn’t,” Indiana safety Amare Ferrell said.
The Hoosiers offense tallied more than 500 yards of total offense, 300 rushing yards, and made it to the red zone six times, yet it only scored two offensive touchdowns. The defense forced three Old Dominion turnovers, yet it gave up two touchdowns of at least 75 yards. Special teams returned a punt 91 yards for a touchdown, yet it missed a field goal. Old Dominion did not take a single snap inside Indiana territory, yet it was a two-score game.
The beauty of game one is that there are 11 more games to grow. The Hoosiers showed that they are capable of putting up strong numbers in all three phases. They just need to be comfortable enough to do it while limiting miscues. Indiana recognizes and adopts that ideology, and it should.
“If you watch any of the games in week one, week zero, some of these teams take a little bit to get oiled up and ready to go and I feel like we’re just that,” Indiana running back Roman Hemby said. “We got some things to clean up, but we’ll get on it.”
It is not often that any team looks like a championship contender to open up the season, especially with a brand new quarterback. Fernando Mendoza had his bright spots and his setbacks in his first game in the cream and crimson. In an offense that largely looks the same on paper as the 2024 version that put up 41.3 points per game, Mendoza is still searching for his place as the new man in control of the unit.
“All those guys executed at a really high level last year as we saw, they had an 11-win season,” Mendoza said. “So I’ve got to be able to insert myself and play with better timing.”
In Indiana’s week one victory over FIU in 2024, transfer quarterback Kurtis Rourke completed 15 of 24 passes for 180 yards and a touchdown. It was a sufficient, yet unspectacular Indiana debut for the future All-Big Ten selection who set multiple school records. Mendoza’s line is quite similar, completing 18 of 31 passes for 193 yards with a rushing touchdown. Offseason camp can only prepare a new quarterback so much, regardless of their recruiting stars or transfer rankings. Much is left unknown. There is no telling whether Mendoza will deliver as Rourke did, but one game is not enough to make any conclusion.
One of the few conclusions that can be drawn from this game is that Indiana is an unfinished product. Luckily for the Hoosiers, the season is not. They have 11 more games to define their 2025 story.
If Indiana wants to achieve the championship pedigree it has its sights on, starting the season 1-0 is a good first step. Now, it is back to the drawing board to deliver on the self-imposed expectations that were missed in game one.
