With blood splattered on his jersey and facemask, Josh Hoover proved a worthy successor to the toughness of Fernando Mendoza in his debut as the starting quarterback for defending national champion Indiana.
Hoover, a highly touted transfer from TCU, rebounded from a bloody nose on a nasty facemask by North Texas’ Udoka Ezeani that drew a 15-yard penalty with 8:24 remaining in the second quarter.
Three plays later, Hoover tossed his second touchdown, connecting on a diving grab by Charlie Becker to give Indiana a 21-3 lead.
A close up at look at Josh Hoover pic.twitter.com/oXkuoT989L
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 5, 2026
“It looked worse than it was,” Hoover said after the game. “I’ve had my nose broken a couple of times. It happens.”
The sequence was the highlight of a command performance for Hoover, who completed 13 of 16 passes for 231 yards, four touchdowns and a 285 rating in the Hoosiers’ 52-16 victory over North Texas. His favorite receiver was Becker, who caught another TD among his four receptions for 64 yards.
“Josh played great,” running back Lee Beebe Jr. said. “He had blood on his face and came back like a true warrior. That tells us he’s going to push to the last bit of his energy. He’ll give 100 percent whether he’s dinged up or anything.”
Running back Turbo Richard was so startled by the blood, he asked Hooever if he needed to come out.
“He said he was fine,” Richard said. “He’s got that warrior spirit in him. It’s inspirational. If he’s playing with a bloody face, then I’ve got to do the same.”
Hoover now has nine games with at least four passing TDs, which is tops among active players.
“I thought he made significant strides from camp,” Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said. “I thought he played with a lot of confidence today.”
Flipped the helmet around on Josh Hoover 😳 pic.twitter.com/2Ea7Tyccje
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) September 5, 2026
Hoover’s gutsy performance was a throwback to the grit of Mendoza, whose legendary 2025 season in Bloomington was still being remembered by the Hoosiers faithful before the home opener.
Indiana unveiled a new exhibit outside Memorial Stadium that allowed fans to literally follow in Mendoza’s footsteps to glory.
A patch of turf with a dotted line retraced Mendoza’s famous fourth-and-5 scramble for the touchdown that helped secure the College Football Playoff Championship over Miami nearly eight months ago.
🚨INDIANA FANS🚨
— CFP (@CFBPlayoff) September 5, 2026
Come follow the iconic Fernando Mendoza run outside Gate E3 of Memorial Stadium before the home opener today‼️👀@IUHoosiers @IndianaFootball pic.twitter.com/RU139griq4
Heading into the 2026 season, a major question was whether Hoover could fill the big shoes left by Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft.
There was little doubt from the opening kickoff against North Texas.
On his first pass attempt at Indiana, Hoover connected on a back-shoulder throw to Michigan State transfer Nick Marsh, who made an impressive one-handed catch to put No. 6 Indiana ahead 7-0 on the opening drive. The Hoosiers went up 14-0 late in the first quarter on a touchdown from Richard, a transfer from Boston College.
What a snag by Nick Marsh to put @IndianaFootball in front first 😳 pic.twitter.com/3DvAiBSlql
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 5, 2026
“We’ve got a lot of weapons and guys who can really go,” Hoover said. “It’s been fun to watch their progression. That’s exciting because anybody who goes out there can make big plays. We’ve got to continue that and fine-tune those details.”
Indiana extended its winning streak to 17 games with Hoover, who marks the third consecutive season that the Hoosiers have turned to a transfer as the starting quarterback (following Kurtis Rourke and Mendoza).
After four seasons at TCU, Hoover was ranked in the top 25 players in the transfer portal. He threw for 9,629 yards and 85 touchdowns for the Horned Frogs, including a five-TD performance against SMU last year.
Great scenes in Bloomington for Big Noon Kickoff! pic.twitter.com/g6zxSj1Ojs
— Big Noon Kickoff (@BNKonFOX) September 5, 2026
