Howard Bison 0, Indiana Hoosiers 55 | Howard Bison Recap
Josh Hoover hit Charlie Becker downfield for a 34-yard touchdown on Indiana's first drive, and the Bison never had an answer. That was the game. Everything after was scoreboard management.
Hoover threw four touchdown passes, three of them to Becker, as No. 5 Indiana routed Howard 55-0 in a 55-minute game at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington. Not a competitive game. Not close to one.
After opening the contest with back-to-back first downs, Howard had just one the rest of the half. The Bison were outgained 510-57, including 301-13 on the ground. Thirteen rushing yards. Against a Power Four defense. That's the whole story of what the line looked like Saturday afternoon.
Hoover connected with Becker for scores of 34 and 6 yards on Indiana's first two drives before finding Shazz Preston for a 39-yard score and a 20-0 lead in the first quarter. Becker added a 41-yard touchdown reception midway through the second quarter, and Indiana closed the half with Rolijah Hardy's 19-yard interception return and Turbo Richard's 14-yard scoring run to make it 41-0.
Forty-one points before halftime. In Bloomington. Coach Ted White's group came in 1-1 on the young season, off a loss to Richmond, but the jump from MEAC competition to a defending national champion with a packed Memorial Stadium crowd is a wall, not a step.
Hoover finished 6 of 11 for 145 yards and has thrown four touchdowns in each of his first two games with Indiana. Becker had 81 yards on his three catches, finishing one touchdown catch short of matching the school's single-game record. Three catches, three scores. That's the kind of afternoon that makes a receiver's name ring nationally.
Lee Beebe Jr. and Turbo Richard each topped 100 yards as Indiana rushed for 301 yards on the day. That's what a top-five program's depth looks like when the starters are pulled before halftime.
Neither Hoover nor Becker played in the second half, and the two coaches agreed to shorten the fourth quarter to 10 minutes. When mercy rules enter the conversation in a college football game, it tells you everything you need to know about the gulf between programs.
Howard quarterback Ja'Shawn Scroggins finished 8 of 15 for 43 yards with one interception. Hardy returned that pick 19 yards for a touchdown, and it ended any slim hope of a second-half rally.
The defending national champs extended the Football Bowl Subdivision's longest active winning streak to 18 and the FBS' longest active home winning streak to 17. Howard walked into the teeth of that.
For the Bison, the early-season schedule is what it is. These FBS crossover paycheck games are a reality of HBCU football economics, and Howard knew what it was signing up for. The program went into Bloomington at 1-1, and MEAC play is where this season gets measured.
Howard had beaten Alabama A&M earlier in the year before losing to Richmond. That loss to Richmond, an FCS program, probably offered more useful film than anything that happened Saturday. The Hoosiers held Howard to just 57 total yards.
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