Curt Cignetti expects improvement from quarterback Josh Hoover and Indiana’s struggling passing game as the fourth-ranked Hoosiers welcome Minnesota for homecoming, with ESPN’s College GameDay in Bloomington.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB+WAVE) — Indiana is coming off a 13-6 overtime victory at Michigan last Saturday that demonstrated how much they can accomplish even when their offense isn’t accomplishing much.
Now comes Minnesota, a team that has beaten three ranked opponents this season and would be perfectly comfortable turning Saturday’s homecoming game into another defensive struggle.
Kickoff for the Halloween homecoming is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at Memorial Stadium, with CBS televising the game nationally. ESPN’s College GameDay will broadcast from campus that morning.
Indiana (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) is a 20½-point favorite against Minnesota (5-2, 3-1), though the Hoosiers haven’t scored more than 20 points in any of their past three games.
The biggest question is whether quarterback Josh Hoover can help change that.
How to Watch
Who: No. 4 Indiana (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) vs. Minnesota (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten)
When: Saturday, Oct. 31, 3:30 p.m. ET
Where: Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Ind.
TV: CBS. Announcers: Brad Nessler, Charles Davis and Jenny Dell
College GameDay: 9 a.m.-noon ET, ESPN/ESPNU, from Showalter Fountain
Radio: Indiana Hoosier Sports Network — Don Fischer, Buck Suhr and John Herrick
Satellite radio: SiriusXM channels 173 or 232
Favorite: Indiana by 20.5
Over/under: 40.5
Minnesota leads the all-time series 40-26-3 and has won the past four meetings, including a 35-14 victory in Bloomington in 2021.
What to Watch
1. Can Indiana get its offense moving again?
For much of the season, Hoover operated one of the nation’s most efficient passing attacks. He enters Saturday with 1,741 passing yards, 18 touchdown passes and just one interception.
But Cignetti said Hoover has been struggling with a wrist injury, and it showed at Michigan.
Hoover completed only eight of 18 passes for 81 yards against the Wolverines. Indiana attempted just one pass in the second half, and it was intercepted.
The Hoosiers still won, thanks largely to a defense that repeatedly frustrated Michigan and an offense that finally produced a touchdown in overtime.
Cignetti expects more from his quarterback this week.
“I expect him to be fine and better this week,” Cignetti said Monday.
The coach also acknowledged that Indiana’s passing difficulties went beyond Hoover’s wrist.
“We didn’t separate at receiver in this game, and, you know, we obviously didn’t throw the ball very well or very often,” he said. “And a lot of that was because of the type of game it became.
“And quite frankly, in practice last week the pass game wasn’t very good. I expect it to be better this week.”
Hoover was listed as probable on Thursday’s Big Ten availability report.
Indiana’s receiving corps includes Charlie Becker, who leads the Hoosiers with 42 receptions for 726 yards and eight touchdowns, and Nick Marsh, who has 34 catches for 610 yards and seven scores.
Minnesota isn’t an ideal opponent for an offense trying to regain its rhythm. The Gophers have an experienced defense that limits explosive plays, alternates between man and zone coverage, brings pressure from multiple directions and makes opponents work for every yard.
“They’re really good and you got to earn every yard and you got to earn every score,” Cignetti said.
Indiana has won three of its past four games, but its offense hasn’t looked much like the one that helped carry the Hoosiers to last season’s national championship.
Saturday would be a good time for Hoover and his receivers to get reacquainted.
2. Can Minnesota run against Indiana’s defense?
This matchup presents one of the more pronounced statistical mismatches of the weekend.
Minnesota averages just 100.1 rushing yards per game, ranking last in the Big Ten and 132nd among 138 FBS teams.
Indiana allows only 73.1 rushing yards per game, fourth nationally, and its 2.14 yards allowed per carry lead the country.
The Hoosiers have become one of the nation’s most disruptive defensive teams, particularly along the line of scrimmage.
Against Michigan, Indiana recorded 11 tackles for loss and held the Wolverines to six points through regulation and overtime.
Linebacker Rolijah Hardy had nine tackles and two sacks. Defensive lineman Tobi Osunsanmi added two sacks, extending his school-record streak to seven consecutive games with at least one.
Osunsanmi has nine sacks this season, second-most nationally, along with 13½ tackles for loss, which also ranks second.
“Our defense is all about wreaking havoc and creating TFLs and sacks and making everything happen on their side of the line of scrimmage,” Cignetti said.
Indiana also has allowed just three touchdowns on opponents’ past 11 red-zone trips.
Minnesota’s leading rusher, TJ Thomas, has 325 yards on 57 carries. Quarterback Drake Lindsey has completed 141 of 222 passes for 1,472 yards, nine touchdowns and six interceptions.
If Minnesota can’t establish a running game, Lindsey could spend much of Saturday trying to escape an Indiana pass rush that has lived in opponents’ backfields.
And if the Hoosiers can make the Gophers one-dimensional, their defense might again be capable of carrying the day.
3. Is Minnesota better than its record suggests?
The Golden Gophers have beaten three teams that were ranked when they played them: Washington, Michigan and Iowa.
Last Saturday, Minnesota beat No. 15 Iowa, 13-10, on a 46-yard field goal by Luke Drzewiecki as time expired.
That victory gave Minnesota possession of Floyd of Rosedale, the bronze pig awarded to the winner of its rivalry with Iowa.
Earlier this season, the Gophers defeated Michigan to reclaim the Little Brown Jug.
Combined with their possession of Paul Bunyan’s Axe from last season’s victory over Wisconsin, Minnesota holds all three of those rivalry trophies simultaneously for the first time since 1978.
Not bad for a team with two losses.
Of course, those losses have been decisive. Mississippi State beat Minnesota 38-13, and Purdue handed the Gophers a 41-13 defeat.
But P.J. Fleck’s team has demonstrated an ability to win close games against quality opponents.
“They’re a lot like us in that they’re not going to beat themselves,” Cignetti said. “They’re going to make you earn it. They’re fundamental. He does a tremendous job. They’re a good football team.”
The Gophers also have a significant weapon in Drzewiecki, who has made all 12 of his field-goal attempts this season and 23 consecutive attempts dating to last year, the longest active streak in the country.
If Saturday comes down to a late kick, Minnesota has a kicker who hasn’t missed in more than a year.
4. Does Indiana have enough left before the bye?
There was a time when the arrival of ESPN’s College GameDay in Bloomington would have seemed like a once-in-a-generation event.
Now it’s becoming something of a regular appointment.
The show returns to Bloomington for the first time since 2024 and for the third time overall. It will broadcast from Showalter Fountain, with Cignetti scheduled to appear live on set.
It’s Indiana’s ninth GameDay appearance, home or away, and the Hoosiers have won each of the past four.
Saturday also is homecoming, with a sold-out crowd expected at Memorial Stadium.
The Hoosiers have become accustomed to playing in the national spotlight, but this is a different kind of challenge.
Indiana is preparing for its ninth consecutive game without a break, including a bruising three-game stretch against Nebraska, Ohio State and Michigan.
“This is our ninth game in a row, is it?” Cignetti said Monday. “So everybody that has played significant snaps is hurting somewhere, but they’re all able to play.”
The Hoosiers have their first open date next week before returning Nov. 14 against USC.
A victory Saturday would send them into that break at 8-1, still firmly in the national championship conversation.
But Minnesota has already demonstrated that it doesn’t particularly care where its opponents are ranked.
And Indiana has spent enough time playing close games lately to understand that homecoming celebrations don’t always follow the script.
From the Game Notes
The Cignetti effect: Indiana has won 34 games over the past three seasons, more than in any other three-year stretch in program history. Cignetti is 34-3 in his three seasons with the Hoosiers.
Winning the close ones: Indiana is 8-1 in games decided by one score under Cignetti, including 3-1 this season.
Protecting the football: Indiana has either won or tied the turnover battle in 32 consecutive games dating to 2024, the longest such streak in the FBS since at least 1995.
A tough place to run: Indiana has held opponents under 100 rushing yards 27 times since the start of the 2024 season, more than any other FBS program.
Unwelcome guests: Minnesota has won two straight games in Bloomington.
A familiar opponent: Both teams have beaten Michigan this season. Minnesota won 20-14 on Oct. 3, while Indiana won 13-6 in overtime last Saturday.
Halloween football: Saturday will mark Indiana’s 18th game played on Halloween and only its third since 2000. The Hoosiers won their most recent Halloween game, 37-21 at Rutgers in 2020.
Minnesota Famous Alum: Garrison Keillor. The creator of A Prairie Home Companion and chronicler of the fictional Minnesota town of Lake Wobegon graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1966. Keillor made a career out of describing a place where “all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.”
Crawford’s Pick
Indiana 24, Minnesota 10
There’s a temptation to look at Indiana’s offensive struggles over the past three games and wonder whether something fundamental has changed.
Maybe it has. Hoover’s wrist injury certainly hasn’t helped, and the passing game hasn’t looked right since the Ohio State game.
But Indiana’s defense has been so good that the Hoosiers haven’t needed much offense to stay competitive.
Minnesota is capable of making this an uncomfortable afternoon. The Gophers play sound defense, don’t give away many easy opportunities and have a kicker who can turn stalled drives into points.
They also have one of the least productive rushing attacks in the country.
That’s a bad combination against Indiana.
I expect Indiana to control the line of scrimmage, pressure Lindsey and eventually create enough offensive opportunities to pull away. Just not by 21 points. Indiana hasn’t scored that many in three weeks.