NFL scouts didn’t learn anything new about Charlie Becker on Saturday, they just got three more touchdowns to add to his tape.
The projected first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft put on a three-touchdown performance as No. 5 Indiana throttled Howard 55-0, extending his red-hot start to the season. Through two games, Becker has seven catches, five touchdowns, zero drops and is the center of an offense built to feed him in the red zone.
Indiana didn’t need Becker’s hat-trick performance to push past FCS opponent Howard. The Hoosiers led by four scores before the first quarter ended and finished with 510 yards of offense to Howard's 57. Becker’s electrifying start to 2026 has catapulted his name into the same conversation as Jeremiah Smith and Malachi Toney for the nation’s best receiver.
The Numbers
Becker’s first touchdown came five plays into the game. It was an underthrown 34-yard pass from Josh Hoover down the left sideline that required Becker to adjust mid-air and make a heavily contested catch in the end zone. His second was a quick 6-yard slant on the goal line that created enough separation for Hoover to find him. His third, a 41-yard connection late in the second quarter to push the lead to four possessions in the second quarter.
For the day: three catches, 81 yards, three touchdowns; every target he saw went for a score. He sat the entire second half alongside Hoover once the Hoosiers built a commanding lead, finishing one touchdown catch short of Indiana's single-game receiving record. Through two games, he's at seven catches, 145 yards and five touchdowns. Becker’s efficiency is why his name keeps skyrocketing up draft boards.
A Complete Team Performance
Becker wasn't the only Hoosier who stood out. Indiana got its ground game on track after a modest Week 1 showing. Turbo Richard had 11 carries for 108 yards and a touchdown, while Lee Beebe Jr. added 16 carries for 117 yards. The two combined for 225 yards on the ground as Indiana finished with 296 rushing yards on the day, an average of 6.4 yards per carry.
Hoover was good, but not great, going 6-of-11 for 146 yards and four touchdowns before giving way to backup Grant Wilson. Wilson added two more scoring throws of his own, a short swing pass to Davion Chandler and a 51-yard strike down the middle to a wide-open Nick Marsh. Shazz Preston also got in on the action, hauling in a 39-yard touchdown.
Defensively, the Hoosiers delivered the shutout the coaching staff had wanted after an imperfect performance in Week 1. Indiana held Howard to just 57 total yards of offense while totaling five sacks and 12 tackles for loss. Linebacker Rolijah Hardy provided the defensive highlight of the day, picking off a pressured throw from Howard quarterback Ja'Shawn Scroggins and returning it 19 yards for a touchdown that put Indiana up 34-0 before halftime.
Curt Cignetti and Indiana’s coaching staff deployed the backups for the majority of the second half. Cignetti made it a point to give valuable reps to younger pieces on both sides of the ball if the Hoosiers built a big enough lead.
Indiana hosts Western Kentucky next Saturday, looking to move to 3-0. Becker, meanwhile, will have another week to strengthen his early-season charge for the Biletnikoff Award.
