FOOTBALL GAMEDAY: Howard (Week 2)

Setting The Scene

• Indiana is set to host Howard for the first meeting in program history on Saturday (Sep. 12) at noon on Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana. The game will air on the Big Ten Network.
• The matchup with Howard marks the seventh time that Indiana will play an opponent for the first time in program history since Curt Cignetti's first season at IU in 2024. (2026: Howard; 2025: Old Dominion, Kennesaw State, Alabama; 2024: Western Illinois, UCLA and Charlotte).
• The home contest marks the second of eight home games for the Hoosiers on Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium this season and the second of four in a row to start the 2026 ledger.
• Howard enters the weekend with a 1-1 record following their 28-21 home loss to Richmond last Saturday (9/5). First year head coach Ted White opened his tenure with a 31-24 win over Alabama A&M in Atlanta, Georgia as part of the MEAC/SWAC Challenge.

News & Notes

• In his three years as head coach at Indiana, Curt Cignetti owns a 28-2 record and is 17-1 against Big Ten competition. His 27 wins through his first two seasons are the most by an FBS head coach in his first two years at a school.
• Tino Sunseri is back as Indiana's quarterbacks coach/co-offensive coordinator. He replaced Chandler Whitmer who left Bloomington to be the new quarterbacks coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Cignetti retained his other nine on-field, countable assistant coaches. MORE ON PAGE 4
• Josh Hoover's four touchdown passes in Week 1 against North Texas (9/5) are the most by an Indiana quarterback in their Hoosier debut in program history. The four touchdown pases are tied for the most in a season opener with Nate Sudfeld in 2013 vs. Indiana State (4). MORE ON PAGE 7
• In his Indiana debut, Turbo Richard charted his fifth career multi-touchdown game and fourth with multiple rushing scores as he ran for two touchdowns versus North Texas. With Richard's two rushing touchdowns, Indiana has charted multiple rushing scores in 25 of 30 games since the start of 2024. MORE ON PAGE 8
• After missing the final 13 games of 2025 with injury, Lee Beebe Jr. made his return to the gridiron with a 67-yard kickoff return to open the season for Indiana. He also added 33 yards rushing in the game.
• Isaiah Jones was Indiana's leading tackler against North Texas with 12 stops for his first career double-digit tackle game. MORE ON PAGE 11
• Nico Radicic's seven extra points against North Texas put his career total at 165 to become the program's all-time leader in extra points. He passed Mitch Ewald (161; 2010-13) for the top spot. He also converted on a career-long 49-yard field goal in the second quarter of the game. MORE ON PAGE 15
• Charlie Becker had his first multi-receiving touchdown game with two scores and Nick Marsh's first catch as a Hoosier was a one-handed 15-yard touchdown grab to open Indiana's scoring for the season. MORE ON PAGE 9
• In his Indiana debut, Quan Sanks logged his first career interception when he picked off Tayven Jackson for a 31-yard return in the fourth quarter against North Texas (9/5). MORE ON PAGE 14
• Both Kansas State transfers logged at least 1.0 tackle for loss as Chiddi Obiazor (1.0 tackle for loss) and Tobi Osunsanmi (2.0 tackles for loss) bolstered the defensive line in their IU debuts. MORE ON PAGE 12
• Carter Smith made his 42nd straight start at left tackle in Week 1 against North Texas (9/5). The streak dates back to Week 1 of 2023. MORE ON PAGE 10
• After 29-straight starts at right guard, Bray Lynch made his first career start at center in Week 1. MORE ON PAGE 10

GAME 2

Setting The Scene

News & Notes

Week 1 Links