Cignetti expects injured QB to play
Big Ten football
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Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said Monday he expects quarterback Josh Hoover to start and deliver a better performance when the fourth-ranked Hoosiers host Minnesota on Saturday.
Hoover played through a right arm injury last weekend at Michigan and he didn't look the same.
The former TCU star was just 8 of 18 for 81 yards with no touchdowns and threw his first interception of the season. Hoover scored the winning touchdown on a 4-yard run in overtime to give Indiana its first victory at Michigan, 13-6, since 1967. It's also the first time the Hoosiers have won two straight in the series since 1958-59.
Clearly, though, Hoover was not himself.
"I expect him to be fine and better this week," Cignetti said Monday. "Quite frankly, in practice last week, the pass game, we weren't very good, and I expect it to be better this week."
Hoover was injured during the second half of the Hoosiers' previous game, a 19-15 loss to then-No. 4 Ohio State. He left briefly, returned and nearly rallied the Hoosiers (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) from a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter. The loss ended a 22-game winning streak and a 19-game home winning streak, the two longest active streaks in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Last weekend's win allowed Indiana to avoid losing back-to-back games for the first time in Cignetti's three seasons in Bloomington. Following the game, Hoover downplayed the impact the injury had against the Wolverines.
Cignetti acknowledged the game plan called for a more run-heavy offense against the Wolverines and coaches considered pulling Hoover and going with seventh-year quarterback Grant Wilson. But they decided against it, and Hoover delivered with a 21-yard pass to Charlie Becker on the first play of overtime to set up his winning score. The defense then stopped Michigan to preserve the victory.
Badgers back in the Top 25
MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin is back in the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2023 after producing arguably the best victory of coach Luke Fickell's four-year tenure.
A look at Wisconsin's remaining schedule after its 24-7 victory over then-No. 16 Southern California indicates the 25th-ranked Badgers (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten) might have a shot to at least match their combined win total from the last two seasons.
But they're not about to look that far ahead, considering the magnitude of this week's challenge. The Badgers go on the road Saturday to face Iowa (5-2, 2-2), which has beaten them each of the last four years by a combined 118-26 margin.
"There's a lot of things that haven't gone well for us in this rivalry game," Fickell said Monday. "We need to do a whole lot to change it. It's not going to be easy. I don't know if there's a tougher place to play in the country."
After Wisconsin allowed 329 yards rushing in a 42-10 loss at Iowa two years ago, the Badgers did 42 pushups at the end of each practice the following spring to remind them of that embarrassing performance.
Iowa then beat the Badgers even more decisively last year, a 37-0 drubbing at Wisconsin that marked the Hawkeyes' highest point total in Madison and their first shutout win at Camp Randall Stadium since 1929.
The Badgers went 4-8 last year after a 5-7 finish in 2024 that snapped what had been a Power Four-leading streak of 22 straight winning seasons. Rather than making a coaching change, then-athletic director Chris McIntosh brought Fickell back while promising a greater financial investment.