After a 27-14 victory over Old Dominion that left head coach Curt Cignetti and quarterback Fernando Mendoza unsatisfied, No. 23 Indiana football hosts Kennesaw State in the second of three non-conference games to open the 2025 season. The Owls lost 10-9 at Wake Forest to open their 11th season overall and their second at the FBS level.
Kennesaw State won three Big South championships at the FCS level before transitioning to the FBS prior to the 2024 season. It won just two games in its inaugural season as a member of Conference USA, though its first win was a 27-24 upset victory over then-undefeated Liberty. Former Indiana quarterback Dexter Williams II leads the Kennesaw State offense after playing for Indiana from 2020-23 and spending 2024 at Georgia Southern.
“(The offense) can go at warp speed,” Cignetti said Monday. “They missed an extra point and a field goal and lost 10-9. We’ve got to be ready to go.”
The overwhelming sentiment from Cignetti and Co. after week one was that, much like the 2024 season-opener against Florida International, Indiana came nowhere close to reaching its potential. With consensus top-15 foe Illinois visiting Bloomington in week four, Indiana knows it needs to improve quickly.
Indiana made seven trips to the red zone against Old Dominion, coming away with two touchdowns and a pair of field goals. The Hoosiers turned the ball over on downs at Old Dominion’s 1-yard line, settled for field goals twice inside the 10, and fumbled the ball at the twenty. Despite over 502 yards of total offense, 309 of which came on the ground, Indiana did not bury Old Dominion as decisively as expected.
“We probably left 35 points out there on offense,” Cignetti said. “We’ve got to get better, period. All the way around. And we should get much better this week.”
Head coach Jerry Mack is in his first season at the helm of Kennesaw State, and he pointed to the Owls’ passing game and offensive discipline as focal points heading into Saturday’s game against Indiana. Williams was 12-for-33 (36%) through the air for 149 yards and no touchdowns at Wake Forest, while the offense racked up seven of the team’s nine penalties.
“The passing game was very subpar,” Mack said Monday. “Execution is extremely important for us right now. The margin of error is so small.”
Similar to Cignetti after week one, Mack noted how his players understand what areas need to improve moving forward.
“I saw flashes of a team that has a chance to be good,” Mack said. “We have to be more consistent on both sides of the ball.”
Mack lauded Indiana’s explosive play potential, both through the air and on the ground. The size of Indiana’s receiving corps and will-imposing rushing attack stand out to the Kennesaw State coaching staff.
“Our players understand how important this opportunity is, to play a team that went to the College Football Playoff last year and match their game up against some of the best in the country,” Mack said. “You’ve really got to be oiled up in terms of your technique, coverages and schemes.”
Indiana’s week two matchup against Kennesaw State is set for a noon kickoff on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. It will be broadcast on FS1, the IU Sports Radio Network and WIUX Sports.
