Chalk up another win for Curt Cignetti.
TCU head coach Sonny Dykes has conceded in their back-and-forth related to quarterback Josh Hoover.
Dykes raised some eyebrows this spring when he appeared to be taking an unsolicited shot at Hoover by mentioning his relatively high turnover rate.
“I think Josh started 31 games here as a quarterback, and he turned the ball over 42 times in those 31 starts,” Dykes said.
That prompted a response from Cignetti, who said Hoover will be in a better position to thrive at Indiana.
“When Josh got here, he met his two new best friends — great defense and a really good run game, and he was never the same after that,” Cignetti said in defense of his new quarterback.
Hoover transferred from TCU to Indiana during the offseason. He does have those 42 turnovers on his resume, but he also arrives in Bloomington as college football’s active career leader in passing yards with 9,629. He’s second in active passing touchdowns with 71.
Now that Dykes has fully turned the page to the 2026 season, he’s ready to acknowledge Cignetti has a valid point.
“There’s a lot of truth to what he (Cignetti) said,” Dykes told The Athletic on Wednesday at Big 12 Media Days.
Dykes told the Athletic the part of his comment people missed was that Hoover’s miscues were as much on the coaching staff as the quarterback. TCU hired a new offensive coordinator during the offseason, and Dykes told the Athletic he wants to run the ball more — and improve his defense — the very things Cignetti highlighted.
“There’s a million different reasons why he turned it over,” Dykes told The Athletic. “But (Cignetti) was fair. I think (he) was right. When you don’t have to score 50 points to win, it’s a lot easier.”
For complete coverage of IU football, GO HERE.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- You can follow us on X: @daily_hoosier and find us on Facebook and Instagram
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
