2026 Week 1 Preview: North Texas Mean Green @ Indiana Hoosiers

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Game notes

• Time and date: Saturday, September 5 at 12:00 p.m. ET
• Network: FOX
• Location: Memorial Stadium — Bloomington, IN
• Spread: Indiana (-40.5)
• Over/under: 55.5
• All-time series: Series tied, 1-1
• Last meeting: Indiana 49, North Texas 24 — October 4, 2014
• Current streak: Indiana, 1 (2014)

Setting the scene

Perhaps the most stunning development in the modern college football landscape is Indiana football. The longtime doormat program transformed into a national powerhouse overnight the instant Curt Cignetti arrived on campus. Cignetti finished his first season at 11-2 with a College Football Playoff appearance and then took the next step, clearing a 16-0 schedule with relative ease and winning the National Championship Game.

Indiana now belongs in conversations its fanbase never imagined it would be apart of. The Hoosiers defend their crown in the first Big Noon Kickoff game of the year, hosting an opponent that finished last season ranked No. 24.

However, almost everything North Texas accomplished in 2025 is irrelevant for the 2026 team. The Mean Green are one of two programs, along with Iowa State, to return zero primary starters. Also, former Troy and West Virginia head coach Neal Brown leads a completely revamped coaching staff. Together, their first test is the reigning national champions on the road.

This matchup would have been especially intriguing in the pre-transfer portal era, but can 2026 North Texas assemble a product quality enough to compete with the defending national champions in Week 1?

North Texas Mean Green outlook

Everything you knew about North Texas in 2025 is gone. The No. 1 offense which exceeded 45 points and 512 yards per game — gone. The FBS leading passer Drew Mestemaker, rushing touchdowns leader Caleb Hawkins, and third-leading receiver Wyatt Young — all gone. The offensive line which finished top 20 in fewest sacks allowed and the defense that produced the fifth-most takeaways in the country — no longer present.

Neal Brown has a difficult rebuilding effort on his hands, assembling a transfer-laden roster with minimal returning talent. But the head coach has engineered surprising results before. When West Virginia was picked to finish last in the Big 12 in 2023, he produced a 9-4 record.

Brown will bring some Big 12 influence to Denton. His starting quarterback, Tayven Jackson, started 10 games for UCF last season, accounting for 2,151 passing yards, 10 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. But Jackson’s starting experience extends beyond Orlando. He started six games at Indiana from 2023-24, including one for Cignetti, and this will be a familiar environment for the Greenwood, IN native.

Another former Big 12 starter in North Texas’ offense is Jahiem White. White produced back-to-back 840+ rushing seasons under Brown at West Virginia, but in 2025, his progress was halted by a season-ending knee injury in Week 2. The explosive 5’7”, 190-pound senior eyes a bounce-back season for an offense which excelled at running the football a year ago.

Transfers should comprise of most starting roles elsewhere on the offense. The refurbished wide receiving corps features FCS standout James Tyre (Western Carolina), Corri Milliner (UAB), Justin Stevenson (Utah), Josiah Martin (Oklahoma), and Division II All-American TJ Chukwurah (Black Hills State). Incumbents Baron Tipton and Dalton Carnes should also serve as frequented targets, along with former Eastern Michigan and Mississippi State tight end Max Reese. There will be a lot to live up to though, as North Texas produced a top-12 passing offense in all three years under Eric Morris, with three different quarterbacks.

The offensive line regroups with a collection of newcomers of varying experience levels. Former Georgia Southern center Chandler Strong arrives with the most experience, but there are plenty of reserves looking for expanded opportunity including Johnny Williams IV (Missouri, but previously played under Coach Brown at West Virginia), Henry Fenuku (Missouri), Neto Umeozulu (Texas), and Jahzari Priester (Virginia Tech).

North Texas’ defense retains zero starters, but there are three incumbents who generated at 13 tackles in 2025, including defensive end Brayden Knox, defensive tackle Terrell Washington, and safety BJ Allen Jr. The Mean Green filled in the gaps with experience, bringing in veteran defensive ends Udoka Ezeani (UTEP), David Onuoha (UMass), Curlee Thomas IV (California), and Davion Rhodes (Georgia Southern) and defensive tackles Justin Benton (East Carolina) and Christian Lorenzo (FCS Illinois State). Rhodes possesses the most FBS experience of the bunch, while Ezeani could be an intriguing pass rusher after leading the Miners in sacks in 2025.

The linebacker room features former Arkansas State starter Aaron Alexander at inside and a former Second Team All-American Conference selection Zakye Barker at outside, who arrives after stops at East Carolina and SMU. That experience extends to the secondary, but North Texas must operate without projected starting corner Caden Jenkins, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury in fall camp. Instead, his twin brother Cameren will step up for a greater role. Other defensive backs looking to slow down Indiana’s passing offense include former Georgia Tech starting safety Taye Seymore and cornerback Keshawn Davila, a former top-rated JUCO prospect who spent 2025 at Arkansas.

Indiana Hoosiers outlook

2025 Indiana became the first FBS team to finish a season 16-0. The Hoosiers won half their games by at least 35 points in one of the more dominant, complete campaigns we’ve ever seen in college football. Despite a strong 2024, many dismissed Indiana as a one-hit wonder heading into last season, as the Hoosiers were ranked No. 20 entering the season.

But now Curt Cignetti’s team is an established power, and they’re not sneaking up on anybody. Their preseason AP ranking of No. 6 is the highest in program history, and even without reigning Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza and seven other 2026 NFL Draft selections, the Hoosiers are expected to reload and compete — just like other national powerhouses like Ohio State and Georgia do every year.

Indiana surprisingly retained all three of its coordinators — Mike Shanahan on offense, Bryant Haines on defense, and Grant Cain on special teams after the historic season. But there are other areas to reload, and one is quarterback. With Mendoza on the Las Vegas Raiders, the Hoosiers turn to TCU transfer Josh Hoover as their third starter in three years under Cignetti. Hoover set the TCU school-record with 3,949 passing yards in 2024 and attained 3,472 yards in his second full season as the starter last fall. The former Horned Frog has displayed high completion percentages, but he’ll aim to cut down on turnovers in Bloomington after throwing 11 in 2024 and 13 in 2025.

Hoover isn’t the rushing threat Mendoza was, but Indiana has the run game taken care of with Boston College transfer Turbo Richard (749 rushing yards on 5.2 yards per carry in 2025), along with Khobie Martin (505 yards on 6.5 yards per carry) and Lee Beebe (209 yards on 7.7 yards per carry). They’ll receive tremendous support from an offensive line that returns three starters including consensus All-American left tackle Carter Smith and guards Bray Lynch and Drew Evans.

Wide receiver is among Indiana’s many loaded position groups. The Hoosiers lured one of the nation’s top transfers in Nick Marsh, a 6’3”, 210-pound strong-armed receiver who produced 662 yards and six touchdowns with the Spartans last year. He’ll join the explosive Charlie Decker, fresh off a season of 679 yards on 20.0 per reception, along with Tyler Morris and Shazz Preston. Morris, a former Michigan starter, missed the entirety of 2025 due to an ACL injury, while Preston arrives from Tulane after leading the CFP-bound Green Wave in receiving last fall.

The defensive line, in theory, could return four starters from 2025. However, the status of defensive ends Stephen Daley and Kellan Wyatt is to be determined based on the legal hurdles of the Wisne v. NCAA decision. However, the Hoosiers reloaded with Kansas State transfers Chiddi Obiazor and Tobi Osunsanmi, whose established pass rushing skills should further develop alongside 2025 First Team All-Big Ten defensive tackle Tyrique Tucker and Mario Landino.

The No. 2 run defense in the country (77.2 yards allowed per game) brings back starting linebackers Rolijah Hardy and Isaiah Jones. Hardy ranked first on the team with 102 tackles, adding 15.0 tackles for loss, and 8.0 sacks to a loaded résumé.

The secondary features the most turnover on defense, with D’Angelo Ponds and Louis Moore as significant departures, but cornerback Jamari Sharpe and free safety Amare Ferrell bring back National Championship experience to the unit. Sharpe produced six pass breakups and a team-high forced fumbles for the 16-0 Hoosiers, while Ferrell added seven pass breakups and four interceptions. Big Ten transplants A.J. Harris (Penn State) and Preston Zachman (Wisconsin) provide significant experience at cornerback and strong safety, respectively.

Excluding Daley and Wyatt, the Hoosiers are still loaded with six starters from their national championship team, which finished second nationally in scoring defense at 11.7 points allowed per game.

Prediction

“We don’t just beat top-25 teams, we beat the (bleep) out of them” is a famous quote from Curt Cignetti from a 2024 College GameDay appearance. He has backed that statement up with data. Last season (rankings at the time of the matchup), Indiana wrecked No. 9 Illinois, 63-10. It then pulverized No. 11 Alabama, 38-3, and obliterated No. 5 Oregon, 56-22.

North Texas isn’t ranked, but five-touchdown plus losses to Indiana aren’t uncommon for even the best teams in college football. It’s simply a new reality in the Cignetti era. Indiana restocked its national championship-caliber offense very well through the portal, while retaining a bulk of its defense that dominated the 2025 season. North Texas is a conglomeration of moving parts playing its first game together.

Things could get out of hand in Bloomington, but the result may not be an indictment of North Texas. Just ask the aforementioned ranked teams that suffered the same fate last season. That’s just what Indiana does.

Prediction: Indiana 56, North Texas 14

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