The wait is finally over! Indiana football kicks off its 2026 season Saturday at noon, hosting North Texas at Memorial Stadium in a matchup that also marks the permanent unveiling of the Hoosiers' first-ever national championship banner.
In Curt Cignetti’s third year, the Hoosiers come into the season as the No. 6 team in the country and a 40.5-point favorite over the Mean Green. North Texas is coming off a 12-2 season last year; however, they arrive in Bloomington virtually unrecognizable to the 2025 squad. North Texas returns only three players from the squad, and none of those players started games in Denton. New head coach Neal Brown, who spent six seasons leading West Virginia before a stint as a special assistant at Texas, brought in nearly 50 transfers this offseason. Now those same transfers have to make their debut for the Mean Green at the home of the reigning national champions.
One familiar face for Hoosier fans: North Texas' new starting quarterback is Tayven Jackson, who played for Indiana as recently as 2024 before transferring to UCF and now to North Texas. Jackson knows what Memorial Stadium feels like on a Saturday; if experience could play a role in the opener, Jackson has been around Bloomington more than the average visiting quarterback.
The Hoosiers return nearly a dozen starters from their undefeated national title run, headlined by an offensive line anchored by reigning Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year Carter Smith. That group should pave the way for a stellar run game that produced 300-plus rushing yards five times last season, with Turbo Richard, Khobie Martin, and Lee Beebe Jr. all in the backfield mix.
Indiana reloaded via the portal, bringing in TCU transfer Josh Hoover at quarterback and Michigan State wideout Nick Marsh to join a receiving corps that already includes Charlie Becker, Tyler Morris and Shazz Preston.
North Texas will be without both of its top two cornerbacks, which should give Indiana's passing attack plenty of room to operate if Mike Shanahan wants to air it out. Hoover is one of the nation's most experienced passers; he makes his 36th collegiate start on Saturday. He has some big shoes to fill as the quarterback after Fernando Mendoza in Bloomington. Saturday should be telling in what fans should expect from Hoover this year.
Defensively, the Hoosiers are solid at every position. The champs bring back All-American Tyrique Tucker, star linebackers Isaiah Jones and Rolijah Hardy, and the man who made the national championship-winning interception, Jamari Sharpe. Indiana’s defensive line could be one of the best in the country, with star linemen Stephan Daley and Kellan Wyatt becoming eligible for Saturday’s contest via a restraining order filed in a Monroe County Circuit Court on Friday. While both have been with the Hoosiers for a couple of weeks, it still remains up in the air if they will play in week 1.
In the portal, the Hoosiers got deeper, adding transfers Chiddi Obiazor and Tobi Osunsanmi from Kansas State and Josh Burnham to a front that should feast on a North Texas offensive line still finding its footing. Brown admitted during fall camp that the offensive line was a work in progress, saying the Mean Green currently have only two linemen he trusts to play right now.
Cignetti's Indiana teams haven't always come out sharp in season openers, needing a late score to pull away from FIU in 2024 and surviving an early 75-yard touchdown run allowed against Old Dominion last year. Add in extreme late-summer heat across the Midwest, with kickoff temperatures around 90 degrees, and depth could be tested even in a lopsided game if substitutions from both teams come into play.
With a healthier roster and more talent across the board, Indiana gears up to defend their first-ever national championship against a new-look North Texas. Kickoff is set for noon ET in Memorial Stadium.
