Before its home opener as the defending national champions, Indiana unveiled a new exhibit that allowed fans to literally follow in Fernando Mendoza's footsteps to glory.

Outside Memorial Stadium was a patch of turf with a dotted line showing Mendoza's famous fourth-and-5 scramble for the touchdown that helped secure the College Football Playoff Championship over Miami nearly eight months ago.

Heading into the 2026 season, a major question was whether highly touted TCU transfer Josh Hoover could fill the big shoes left by Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft.

The early signs against North Texas are encouraging.

On Indiana's opening drive, Hoover connected on a back-shoulder throw to Michigan State transfer Nick Marsh, who made an impressive one-handed catch to put No. 6 Indiana ahead 7-0.

Hoover marks the third consecutive season that the Hoosiers have turned to a transfer as the starting quarterback, following Kurtis Rourke and Mendoza. After four seasons at TCU, Hoover was ranked in the top 25 players in the transfer portal. Hew threw for 9,629 yards and 85 touchdowns for the Horned Frogs, including a five-TD performance against SMU last year.

Before its home opener as the defending national champions, Indiana unveiled a new exhibit that allowed fans to literally follow in Fernando Mendoza's footsteps to glory.

Outside Memorial Stadium was a patch of turf with a dotted line showing Mendoza's famous fourth-and-5 scramble for the touchdown that helped secure the College Football Playoff Championship over Miami nearly eight months ago.

Heading into the 2026 season, a major question was whether highly touted TCU transfer Josh Hoover could fill the big shoes left by Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft.

The early signs against North Texas are encouraging.

On Indiana's opening drive, Hoover connected on a back-shoulder throw to Michigan State transfer Nick Marsh, who made an impressive one-handed catch to put No. 6 Indiana ahead 7-0.

Hoover marks the third consecutive season that the Hoosiers have turned to a transfer as the starting quarterback, following Kurtis Rourke and Mendoza. After four seasons at TCU, Hoover was ranked in the top 25 players in the transfer portal. Hew threw for 9,629 yards and 85 touchdowns for the Horned Frogs, including a five-TD performance against SMU last year.