Getting your facemask ripped off backward mid-play certainly doesn’t feel good. Indiana’s redshirt senior quarterback Josh Hoover learned that halfway through the second quarter Saturday.
After the penalty from the University of North Texas, Hoover had a noticeable amount of blood dripping from his nose; some of it was splattered across his chin strap. Other marks were strewn across his jersey, noticeable on the white No. 10 in front. The last bit of blood was smeared at the top of his cream-colored pants.
Three plays later, with crimson still oozing down the quarterback’s face, he found junior wide receiver Charlie Becker in the back of the endzone for a 9-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-3.
That three-play sequence summarized the Hoosiers’ performance against North Texas.
Like last year’s opening contest against Old Dominion University, it wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t clean. At times, it was uninspiring. Yet, Indiana still cruised to a 52-16 victory inside Memorial Stadium in Bloomington.
Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti described the contest as a “different” kind of game than what he’s used to.
“We had trouble getting off the field and had explosive plays on offense,” Cignetti said postgame. “Not every game will be like this. I think I’ve only had one game like this since I’ve been here.”
While the Hoosiers put up 21 points in the fourth quarter, their defensive struggles stood out. Indiana missed assignments and tackles all day.
With injuries to senior cornerback A.J. Harris and redshirt senior cornerback Jamari Sharpe in the first quarter, in addition to fifth-year defensive lineman Stephen Daley and Kellan Wyatt being granted eligibility to play Friday, Indiana’s defensive coordinator Bryant Haines constantly rotated players in and out of the lineup.
Cignetti said it was a challenge to play down two starting cornerbacks but didn’t excuse the tackling and alignment issues.
“We didn’t play real well on defense,” Cignetti said. “They had us off balance. Whether it was poor tackling, out on the perimeter. When you play a game against a new staff, you’re not exactly sure what you’ll see. That was the case today.”
Indiana redshirt senior linebacker Isaiah Jones, who had 12 total tackles, echoed Cignetti’s statement, saying the Hoosiers must play better on defense.
“The defense left the field unsatisfied about how we played,” Jones said. “We beat ourselves on some plays; we have to get off the field quicker.”
Like Cignetti, Jones knows it’s early. But he still wants the defense to tap into the “explosive” plays.
“You want to see TFLs (tackles for loss), sacks,” Jones said. “We preach hustling to the ball. We have to correct it ... when you have coach Haines and Cig in your ear, you’re confident they’ll help us turn it around.”
In Tuesday’s column, I pointed out North Texas’ running game. On paper, it presented challenges with senior running back Jahiem White as the main rushing option, who Cignetti said Monday was “elusive in space.”
Indiana, aside from a few big plays, shut down the Mean Green’s rushing attack — one of the few positive marks for a unit that struggled. It held White to 61 rushing yards on 14 attempts. North Texas had 152 total rushing yards.
However, the passing game gashed the Hoosiers’ secondary through the first three quarters. North Texas ran multiple crossing routes in the middle of the field that led to wide open receivers.
Mean Green fifth-year quarterback Tayven Jackson went 22 for 28 with 192 passing yards in his return to Bloomington but didn’t accumulate any passing touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Corri Milliner paced North Texas with four catches for 66 yards — averaging 16.5 yards per reception.
In the fourth quarter, North Texas had a measly 11 passing yards. If Indiana’s front four can bring pressure and shut down an opposing offense the way it did in the final quarter, it will be hard to beat.
On the other side of the ball, Indiana’s offense was clicking.
In all four trips to the redzone, Indiana scored a touchdown. Last season against Old Dominion, the Hoosiers scored only two touchdowns in six chances inside the 20-yard line.
Hoover finished the day 13 for 16 with 231 yards and four passing touchdowns, posting a 285.0 quarterback passer rating. He answered concerns about potential turnover issues with a clean, turnover-free performance where he didn’t put the ball in harm's way.
“We had open opportunities, and he delivered the football,” Cignetti said. “No turnovers, no picks. I’ll take that any day of the week.”
While the running game was subpar at best for the Hoosiers — averaging 3.2 yards per carry between their two running backs — the receiving game was dominant.
Becker had four catches for 64 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Nick Marsh only tallied two catches for 17 yards, but the first reception was a superb, one-handed grab to put Indiana ahead 7-0 in the first two minutes of the game.
Cignetti said pregame that he’d preached setting the tone early to his group.
“It was one of the things we talked about this year. I told them to start better than allowing a first play touchdown like ODU did last year,” Cignetti said. “We did, but we didn’t play quite as well in between.”
Like after last year’s opener, Indiana has a lot to learn and plenty of time to shape into better form before conference play begins. After all, the season is far from over — there’s no need to panic.
Follow reporters Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and Nathan Shriberg (@NShriberg and naashri@iu.edu) and columnist Elakai Anela (@elakai_anela and eanela@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
