BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti declined to name a starting quarterback for Saturday’s game against Southern Cal.

Josh Hoover, who suffered an upper body injury on Oct. 19 versus Ohio State, struggled in wins over Michigan and Minnesota. Backup quarterback Grant Wilson stepped into the game against the Gophers and authored an unlikely comeback in overtime.

Cignetti created a bit of uncertainty for the No. 4 Hoosiers (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten) by not commenting on the quarterback situation after the game. Coming out of an off week, Cignetti remained tight-lipped about the topic during his weekly news conference on Monday.

"We'll see how the week plays out and we'll see who we trot out there," Cignetti said.

The eventual starter will be tasked with getting IU’s one-time high-powered offense back on track.

The TCU transfer didn't discuss any specifics and downplayed concerns about his health when he spoke to reporters after the Ohio State game and the win over the Wolverines. It's also unclear whether the hit Hoover took right before halftime against Minnesota aggravated the injury (and led to the quarterback change) or if Cignetti's decision was more about IU's lack of production.

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Against the Gophers, Wilson threw for 156 yards and a touchdown with explosive plays in both the pass and run game. The offense scored on its last three possessions and had two extended drives (10 or more plays) in the second half.

The eventual starter will be tasked with getting IU’s former high-powered offense back on track.

Through the last four games, Indiana has averaged 17.8 points per game, converted 28.3% of its third-down conversions and scored four touchdowns on 11 trips inside the red zone. Hoover completed just 48.5% of his passes during that stretch and turned it over three times.

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"A lot of our problems have been general execution," Cignetti said on Monday. "We were averaging 42 points after the first four, five games, and then the next four I think it was, we were averaging 18 points. For the most part it's been missed opportunities. Last week was combination of six offensive penalties on the offensive line. It's stuff we got to clean up."

This weekend’s game will be a big opportunity for Indiana to impress the College Football Playoff committee. The No. 20 Trojans (7-2, 5-1) have playoff aspirations of their own and could make a run of their own if they were to knock off the Hoosiers and No. 8 UCLA in their regular season finale.

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Will Josh Hoover start at quarterback for Indiana football vs USC? What Curt Cignetti says

Source: Yahoo Sports