Yesterday was the second game of the 2026 college football season for Indiana University. IU had a home game against the Howard University Bison, an Historically Black College and University located in Washington, D.C. To say it was an even match would be a gross overstatement. Competitive it was not. In fact, it was a total domination by Indiana that resulted in a 55-0 rout of the Bison.
Despite a record of 1-1, Howard was a weak opponent. For the entire game, they had only 4 first downs, 13 total yards passing, 44 yards rushing, and punted 9 times. Those stats tell me that IU’s defense played much better this week compared to last—No missed tackles, fewer wide open receivers, and no big plays. It was total defensive dominance. Last week, IU allowed North Texas to score 16 points. That’s 16 points too many. This week, North Texas beat UNLV 44-6 proving they were a worthy opponent, and that IU’s defense is world class good! Against Howard, IU’s starters sat the entire second half so the score could have been a lot worse than it was.
Indiana’s offense was great. They totaled 505 yards with 296 yds rushing and 209 yds passing. Josh Hoover, the quarterback transfer from TCU continues to play well. Against Howard, playing the first half only, Hoover was 6 of 11 passing for 145 yds and 4 TD’s. Three of those TD’s were to Charlie Becker, my favorite Hoosier player since Antwan Randle El. Becker just doesn’t drop passes. He makes catches that most players would only dream of catching. He also outruns many defensive backs, too.
The IU ground game is gaining momentum with its two-headed battering ram called Lee Beebe and Turbo Richard. Beebe had 16 rushes for 112 yds (avg. 7 yds per carry) and Richard had 11 rushes for 108 yds (avg. 9.8 yds per carry). That’s a decent showing. As long as they don’t suffer any injuries, they may maintain a running game that will enable an effective pass offense.
On the negative side, Howard’s QB was able to hit wide open receivers, but those completions never led to any points for Howard. A second quarter holding penalty stirred the ire of Coach Cignetti, but it, too, resulted in no harm to Indiana. And a blocked point after touchdown (PAT) in the first quarter made the score 55-0 rather than the 56-0 it could have been.
Next Saturday, Indiana hosts Western Kentucky who yesterday took a 70-20 shellacking at the hands of the number two-ranked Georgia Bulldogs. The Hilltoppers, bruised and battered, will limp into Memorial stadium to get another taste of how a top-five ranked team plays. It should end with IU earning a 3-0 record. At least I hope so. It’s so nice to be confident your alma mater has a good chance of winning every time they take the field. That’s unlike it was from 1962 to 2024 when mediocrity and embarrassment were front and center.
Everything is different now.
Reference: www.google.com/indiana-university-football-stats.
