IU football: Three quick reasons the Hoosiers beat North Texas, highlights, stats

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana beat North Texas by a final score of 52-16 on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.

Below are three quick reasons why the Hoosiers won, along with highlights and final stats.

Indiana (1-0) is back in action next Saturday against Howard in Bloomington.

Three quick reasons why Indiana beat North Texas

1. Indiana’s offense dominated: IU’s offense never faced any serious pressure or adversity, but the Hoosiers certainly displayed what they’re capable of. Quarterback Josh Hoover showed a lot of toughness by carrying on after a facemask penalty left him with a bloody nose, and he threw a touchdown three plays later. Charlie Becker caught two touchdowns, Nick Marsh and Davion Chandler each had one. Turbo Richard had a nice game on the ground. IU’s offense committed only one penalty — granted, it took a long Lee Beebe Jr. touchdown run off the board.

2. Big plays on special teams: Indiana opened the season with a monster kickoff return by Beebe, a 67-yard scamper putting the offense right at the UNT 20 to start the game. Marsh made his spectacular one-handed touchdown catch three plays later. In the second quarter, Richard joined the fun with a 41-yard kick return to put the Hoosiers at their own 49-yard-line. That drive ended in a Hoover touchdown pass to Becker. Then, in the second half, Tyler Morris broke off a 36-yard punt return to set up IU’s offense at the UNT 30-yard-line. It’s a little unclear whether those plays are a result of good special teams play by Indiana or poor special teams play by North Texas, but they made a big impact.

3. Defense bends but doesn’t break: Bryant Haines’ defense will have some work to do after this game, with some uncharacteristically poor tackling on too many occasions. Each of North Texas’ first seven offensive possessions went for more than 35 yards and at least six plays. The Mean Green finished with more yardage than IU, and their 367 total yards are more than Indiana allowed in 15 of its 16 games last season. The Hoosiers buckled down when needed, holding UNT to field goals three times and getting one turnover on downs.

HIGHLIGHTS