It all starts on Saturday.
This weekend, No. 6 Indiana hosts North Texas to open its season, embarking on a near-impossible quest to match or exceed the brilliance it displayed a year ago.
Indiana’s first test on Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium is against the Mean Green, who are led by a familiar face in quarterback Tayven Jackson. Jackson spent two years in a Hoosier uniform, including head coach Curt Cignetti’s first season at the helm, but now returns to Bloomington on the opposing team.
Beyond the quarterback position, a few important positional matchups could directly contribute to the determination of a final score in the season opener in Bloomington.
Indiana’s dangerous receivers vs. North Texas’ weakened cornerback room
Indiana escaped fall camp almost entirely unscathed in regards to injury, but not every team enjoys that luxury, even this early in the season. North Texas, for example, lost two key cornerbacks in August.
Caden Jenkins, a senior transfer cornerback from Baylor, suffered a season-ending knee injury. Not long after, senior transfer cornerback from Southeastern Louisiana Zach Johnson also suffered an injury and is likely to miss at least the season opener against the Hoosiers.
Jenkins earned Honorable Mention All-Big 12 honors while at Baylor, and Johnson supplied a great deal of production to Southeastern Louisiana as a consistent starter. Those two losses, especially in tandem with one another, significantly harmed the North Texas secondary.
To make matters worse for the Mean Green, the Hoosiers employ an efficacious air-raid offense. Indiana’s dangerous group of receivers, led by Charlie Becker and Michigan State transfer Nick Marsh, is very much capable of exploiting any mismatches present on the outside.
Transfer quarterback Josh Hoover is equipped to deliver the ball to those receivers after growing accustomed to thriving in an air-raid system during his time at TCU. Little by little, bit by bit, swift passes into the flat and by the boundary could cut up the Mean Green.
Indiana’s frightening pass rush vs. North Texas’ unproven offense line
It’s no secret that North Texas experienced an incredible amount of roster turnover this past offseason. Former North Texas head coach Eric Morris, who led the Mean Green to a 12-win season last year, left for Oklahoma State. Amidst the sudden vacancy and subsequent hiring of current head coach Neal Brown, this year's roster is almost entirely different from the last.
In particular, plenty of fresh faces exist on the offensive line, which is one of the multiple position groups that returns zero starters from last season’s squad. Early returns on the offensive line aren’t exactly positive, either, as the unit still seeks to meet expectations.
It’s an unproven offensive line, one that may be prone to allowing attackers to sneak into the backfield and bring down Jackson. That outcome is especially possible considering the terrifying threats posed by the Indiana defensive line.
Since the spring, the Hoosiers have flexed their muscles on the defensive front, eager to finally do so on the field against someone other than their own teammates in crimson.
“I’m so excited to hit another color other than red,” Indiana offensive lineman Carter Smith said on Tuesday. “It’s been a long fall camp, it’s been very competitive… and now it’s game time.”
Hungry and primed for brutal competition, this defensive front is ready to shred an opponent apart. Smith certainly notices their efforts.
“Those two K-State guys, Chiddi (Obiazor) and Tobi (Osunsanmi), really quick, really strong guys,” Smith said. “Really tall and lean dudes, they do a great job rushing off the edge and are very disruptive when they want to spike and ruin the gap-to-gap run. And obviously our d-tackles man, I mean, having guys like (Tyrique Tucker) and Mario (Landino), even guys like Joe Hjelle, with guys rotating like that, it doesn’t get much better.”
If Smith, one of the best offensive lineman in the country, is weary after competing against this front, North Texas is likely in for a long day in the trenches. Time will tell how long the Mean Green can hold up against what could become one of the best units in the country.
Indiana quarterback Josh Hoover vs. North Texas’ hungry secondary
The greatest criticism against Hoover is his tendency to turn the ball over.
In 2025, as a Horned Frog, Hoover threw 13 interceptions, which tied for the third-most in the country last year. Hoover’s offensive line at TCU likely wasn’t as protective as his will be this season at Indiana, and there are a multitude of factors that went into his struggles. However, if Hoover falters as a Hoosier this season, turnovers could be a prominent cause of that.
Even if Indiana is not in much danger of losing to North Texas, or to any of its early-season opponents for that matter, the season opener is Hoover’s first opportunity to play a full four quarters without recording a turnover.
Smith, no doubt, is confident in his quarterback.
“He has shown a lot of great flashes throughout fall camp against our defense,” Smith said. “We have a lot of deep balls that’s made completions for. Making a lot of the right reads on RPOs, and he’s doing a great job.”
Maybe Hoover’s turnover issues fade under the watchful eye of Cignetti, or maybe they don’t. North Texas isn’t guaranteed to answer the question of whether or not Hoover is a significantly improved version of himself in an Indiana uniform. Nonetheless, Hoover’s first snaps as a Hoosier will come against the Mean Green, as fans eagerly await a glance at their new quarterback.
Hoover probably won't throw a surplus of interceptions against North Texas, and probably won’t lose the game in part because of that. All very well could go according to plan for Hoover and the Hoosiers, but if it doesn’t, concerning conversations may swirl regardless of final score.
After an offseason full of discussion, it’s finally time for Hoover to prove himself on the field.
A fresh season begins
For the first time since the national championship game, Indiana’s football team is in action.
An unfamiliar quarterback, a possible repeat championship
Per usual, at the start of the season, more is unknown than known. Over the course of the next five months, questions will transform into answers and a clear picture of the current college football landscape will come into view.
At long last, it all starts on Saturday.
