For the third straight season under head coach Curt Cignetti, Indiana has swept its non-conference schedule. Indiana has outscored its opponents 145-16 through the first three games of the season, including back-to-back shutouts against Howard and Western Kentucky.
Yet even with Indiana’s dominant start, much of the scrutiny has fallen on new quarterback Josh Hoover.
With non-conference play behind the Hoosiers, Hoover will lead Indiana into its Big Ten opener Friday night against Northwestern. Through three games, Hoover has shown why Indiana believes he’s the next man up, even as questions about his play continue to follow him.
Cignetti has earned a reputation as a “portal king,” a reputation that has continued after landing quarterbacks Kurtis Rourke and Fernando Mendoza in consecutive seasons.
Can Hoover make it three in a row?
Hoover’s Hot Start
Hoover ended non-conference play 37-for-51 with 649 yards, 10 touchdowns, and zero interceptions. He’s also thrown considerably fewer passes through three games than Rourke and Mendoza did. Rourke attempted 74 passes, while Mendoza attempted 76. Indiana’s lopsided wins have allowed the offense to ask less of Hoover through the air, but even with fewer opportunities, Hoover has made the most of them.
Charlie Becker has certainly made Hoover’s job easier, hauling in 12 of his 37 completions and six of his 10 touchdowns. Until Indiana’s most recent game against Western Kentucky, Becker had yet to record a drop in his college career.
“I think what makes Charlie special is just his ability to go up and get the ball,” Hoover said of Becker after their game against North Texas. “Just give him a chance, and he’s going to make those plays.”
While Becker has emerged as Hoover’s favorite target, he has spread the ball around, connecting with eight different receivers, six of them transfers. Even with the numbers, Hoover knows he has left opportunities on the field.
Protecting the Football
Former Indiana head coach Tom Allen heavily recruited Hoover, and he even spent six months committed to the program in 2021 before flipping his commitment to TCU. He spent four seasons with the Horned Frogs throwing for 9,629 yards and 71 touchdowns. This past offseason, Hoover was one of the most sought-after quarterbacks in the transfer portal, ultimately choosing the Hoosiers his second time around.
One of the biggest questions surrounding Hoover before his arrival in Bloomington was whether he could protect the football. For all the production, the 33 interceptions stood out. When Indiana brought him in, the question wasn’t whether Hoover could run an offense. It was whether he could do it without turning the ball over.
"We've got to clean up some of the turnovers (with quarterback Josh Hoover), obviously, which (TCU) Coach (Sonny) Dykes made light of," Cignetti said during preseason. "But when Josh got here, he met his two new best friends: great defense and a really good run game, and he was never the same after that."
Not only has Indiana’s defense created back-to-back shutouts, but the Hoosiers’ run game has produced at a high level, rushing for 663 yards through three games. Hoover has also yet to turn the ball over. From what we’ve seen so far, Hoover has addressed one of the biggest concerns that followed him from TCU.
A Higher Standard
“There were a couple of throws I would love to have back,” Hoover said after Indiana’s game against Western Kentucky. “I know I’m an accurate guy, and I know I’m going to make those adjustments. I’m going to put our team in better situations on some of those third downs to continue to prolong drives.”
Being a Hoosier has a different meaning now than it did back when Hoover was first recruited by Indiana in high school. This wasn’t an isolated comment from Hoover. Despite Indiana’s 3-0 start and his strong numbers, he has consistently held himself to a high standard.
“I hold myself to a higher standard than anyone else,” Hoover said. “I think it’s a learning moment for us just to continue to never get complacent and just always continue to improve.”
Cignetti’s first two quarterbacks at Indiana didn’t exactly make Hoover’s act easy to follow. In 2024, Rourke led Indiana to the program's first 11-win season while setting a new single-season touchdown record (which was later broken in 2025 by Mendoza). A year later, Mendoza had a perfect season for the Hoosiers, powering Indiana to college football’s first 16-0 season since Yale in 1894 and winning the Heisman Trophy. With the accomplishments those two achieved, expectations around IU football have changed drastically.
“I think there is too much scrutiny on Josh Hoover right now,” Cignetti said. “Unfair scrutiny. After watching the game tape, he missed one throw. The one he missed to Becker, we did a bad job picking up the blitz at running back, and he had a guy in his face. One he overthrew early. Missed Marsh.”
Hoover finds himself in an interesting position. His coach believes people are scrutinizing his performance too heavily, while Hoover himself continues to focus on a few plays he wants back.
Now the competition changes.
As Indiana moves from non-conference play to Big Ten opponents, Hoover will get his chance to carry that offensive production into conference play against teams trying to reclaim the Big Ten throne.
Indiana hosts Northwestern on Friday night at Memorial Stadium for its Big Ten home opener, with kickoff set for 8 p.m.
