If you’ve learned nothing else in two-plus seasons watching the Curt Cignetti-led Indiana Hoosiers, you know this: Don’t sweat the first game.
Indiana wasn’t impressive in its 27-14 win over Old Dominion a year ago, and the same went for the 31-7 win over Florida International to start the 2024 campaign.
Perhaps that’s part of Cignetti’s calculus when it comes to the nonconference schedule in the age of the transfer portal. Give yourself some runway with a manageable start to work out the kinks.
Now that we know what finely tuned IU football looks like by midseason, we can quickly recognize what’s not quite right.
In this year’s opener, a game Indiana led just 31-16 at the start of the fourth quarter, it was a defense that couldn’t get off the field at times, and an offensive run game that had its share of struggles.
MISSED ASSIGNEMENTS AND MISSED TACKLES KEEP HEAT ON THE DEFENSE
Did North Texas (and former Indiana) quarterback Tayven Jackson know all the secrets to beating a Bryant Haines defense?
North Texas certainly seemed to have answers to IU’s vertical pass rush with quick passes, roll outs, and throws to the perimeter, often to the running backs.
But in week one against a new head coach with an entirely new roster, Haines didn’t have a lot to work with from a preparation standpoint. The result was several North Texas drives that methodically kept the chains moving and ate time off the clock. Everything about the Mean Green approach appeared to be a carbon copy of how Wisconsin tried to play the Hoosiers in 2025.
“The opponent had the ball 37 minutes, a combination of some critical missed assignments, poor tackling,” Cignetti said Monday. “So gotta get better there.
“We weren’t real disruptive up front, but it was a little bit of a space game, too. So you go out in the first game, you’re not exactly sure what the opponent’s going to do. They gave us a lot of different looks, to their credit, but we overcame it.”
LAST MINUTE CHANGE ON THE OFFENSIVE LINE
Before fall camp Cignetti said the plan was to bump Wisconsin transfer offensive lineman Joe Brunner out to right tackle and keep Adedamola Ajani inside at right guard.
Brunner had never played tackle in college, while Ajani had limited experience in both roles.
Throughout fall camp during the practice sessions that were open to the media, IU appeared to be sticking with that plan.
So it came as a surprise on Saturday to see Ajani as the starting right tackle and Brunner as the starting right guard.
After studying the pair throughout August, the late switch was made.
“(Offensive line coach) Bob Bostad thought about eight, nine days before the opener that we’d be better off going in that direction, so we did,” Cignetti said, adding that it continues to be the plan going forward.
NO WORRIES WITH THE RUN GAME
Before backup quarterback Grant Wilson darted 43 yards for a score in the closing minutes, IU had just 91 rushing yards. The Hoosiers were held below 100 just once in 2025, in that game against Wisconsin, and they went over 300 yards on the ground six times.
North Texas sold out to stop the run, going with the five defensive linemen fronts. That was a look that surprised the IU staff.
But Indiana’s offense worked how it’s supposed to. The defense took something away, and the Hoosiers took advantage of what that left open — one-on-one matchups for the wide receivers.
“I think based on the way we were being played, I mean, it (the running game) was fine,” Cignetti said. “I mean, there were some little things up front that have got to be improved.”
There were other factors that kept Indiana’s rushing yards lower than you’d expect. Good kickoff and punt returns shortened the field.
And a 43-yard touchdown run by Lee Beebe, Jr. was called back for holding on center Bray Lynch. That was a call the head coach disagreed with.
“The call on Bray on the long touchdown run, you know, they called it. I thought the guy kind of tripped,” Cignetti said. “So it is what it is. And we’ll be fine.”
In the end, the IU offense was efficient. The Hoosiers scored on eight out of nine possessions. They had seven touchdowns, and were 4-for-4 scoring touchdowns in the red area, an improvement over their 2-for-7 effort in last year’s opener. Indiana had more points (52) than plays (46).
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