With blood splattered on his jersey and facemask, Josh Hoover proved a worthy successor to the toughness of Fernando Mendoza in his debut as the starting quarterback for defending national champion Indiana.

Hoover, a highly touted transfer from TCU, rebounded from a bloody nose from a nasty facemask by North Texas' Udoka Ezeani.

Three plays later, Hoover tossed his second touchdown, connecting on a diving grab by Charlie Becker to give Indiana a 21-3 lead.

A close up at look at Josh Hoover pic.twitter.com/oXkuoT989L

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 5, 2026

It was a throwback to the grit of Mendoza, whose legendary one-year run was still being remembered by the Hoosiers faithful before the home opener.

Indiana unveiled a new exhibit that allowed fans to literally follow in 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.

INDIANA FANS
Come follow the iconic Fernando Mendoza run outside Gate E3 of Memorial Stadium before the home opener today‼️@IUHoosiers@IndianaFootballpic.twitter.com/RU139griq4

— CFP (@CFBPlayoff) September 5, 2026

Heading into the 2026 season, a major question was whether 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 were 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. The Hoosiers went up 14-0 late in the first quarter on a touchdown from running back Turbo Richard, a transfer from Boston College.

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.

Great scenes in Bloomington for Big Noon Kickoff! pic.twitter.com/g6zxSj1Ojs

— Big Noon Kickoff (@BNKonFOX) September 5, 2026

Source: Yahoo Sports