FOOTBALL GAMEDAY: North Texas (Week 1)

Setting The Scene

• Indiana is set to open the 2026 season under third-year head coach Curt Cignetti with a home date against North Texas Saturday (Sep. 5) on Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana. The game will air on FOX with the network's Big Noon Kickoff show on site.
• Cignetti and the Hoosiers will look to build upon the success of 2025, when the team had its winningest season in program history (16-0) and winning the College Football Playoff National Championship. The Hoosiers became the first major college football team to go 16-0 since 1894 when Yale did so.
• This will be the third meeting in program history between the two programs and the first meeting since 2014. In that game, Indiana won 49-24 in Bloomington. North Texas won the first matchup in 2011 which took place in Denton.
• North Texas is led by new head coach Neal Brown. Brown took over as the leader of the Mean Green after head coaching stops at West Virginia (2019-24) and Troy (2015-18). In 2025, he was the Special Assistant to the Head Coach at Texas.
• Saturday marks the first of eight home games for the Hoosiers on Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium this season and the first of four in a row to start the 2026 season. The eight home games ties the most in program history and is the only the fourth time it has occurred (2008, 2013, 2024).
• In non-conference home season openers, Indiana owns a 27-3 mark since 1953 - the first year the Big Ten fielded 10 teams in the conference.
• The Hoosiers have won 13 straight non-conference home season openers dating back to 2001.

News & Notes

• After two years as head coach at Indiana, Curt Cignetti owns a 27-2 record leading the Hoosiers and is 17-1 against Big Ten competition. His 27 wins are the most by an FBS head coach in his first two years at a school.
• Indiana's 2026 schedule features four teams ranked in the Preseason Top 25 polls by both the Associated Press and the USA Today/AFCA Coaches No. 1/1 Ohio State, No. 14/14 USC, No. 16/16 Michigan and No. 17/19 Washington. MORE ON PAGE 6
• Tino Sunseri is back as Indiana's quarterbacks coach/co-offensive coordinator. He replaces 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
• Indiana has eight players who were recognized as preseason All-Americans by multiple outlets, including 2025 All-Americans Carter Smith and Tyrique Tucker among others. MORE ON PAGE 6
• Indiana returns two key starters from its 2025 defensive line in Tyrique Tucker and Mario Landino while bolstering the room with impact transfers Josh Burnham (Notre Dame), Chiddi Obiazor (Kansas State) and Tobi Osunsanmi (Kansas State). MORE ON PAGE 12
• Indiana returns its two sack leaders from a season ago in linebackers Rolijah Hardy (8.0) and Isaiah Jones (7.0). Hardy also led the team in tackles with 102 stops in 2025. MORE ON PAGE 11
• The Hoosiers brought back three starters on the offensive line. Drew Evans, Bray Lynch and 2025 Rimington-Pace Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year Carter Smith are all back up front for Indiana. MORE ON PAGE 10
• For the third year in a row, Indiana's starting quarterback will be a first-year Hoosier and transfer as Josh Hoover replaces Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick Fernando Mendoza under center in 2026. Hoover comes to Bloomington after a four-year career at TCU. Hoover was ranked as the No. 23 player in the transfer portal this past offseason and the No. 5 quarterback in the cycle. MORE ON PAGE 7

GAME 1

Setting The Scene

News & Notes

Week 1 Links