After nearly benching Josh Hoover at Michigan, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti expects the quarterback to be healthier and perform better this week against Minnesota.
Hoover sustained an undisclosed injury in Indiana's Oct. 17 loss to Ohio State and had limitations in practice before Michigan, although he didn't appear on Indiana's availability report. The senior transfer from TCU completed only eight of 18 passes against the Wolverines and threw his first interception of the season, finishing with 81 passing yards, a career low as a starter. Hoover attempted just two passes after halftime and didn't complete one until a 21-yarder to tight end Brock Schott in overtime that set up Indiana's game-winning score.
Cignetti said after Indiana's 13-6 victory that the coaches considered replacing Hoover with Grant Wilson during the game.
"I expect him to be fine and better this week," Cignetti said Monday.
Hoover eclipsed 200 passing yards in six of his first seven games, and has 1,741 passing yards with 18 touchdowns and one interception for the season. Indiana's 212 total yards marked its lowest since generating 151 in a 2024 loss at Ohio State.
"We didn't separate at receiver in this game, and we obviously didn't throw the ball very well or very often, and a lot of that was because of type of game it became," Cignetti said. "And quite frankly, in practice last week the pass game wasn't very good. I expect it to be better this week."
