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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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Indiana heads into the final stretch of the college football season hungry after dropping to No. 9 overall in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. The Hoosiers were No. 4 in the initial rankings.
After narrowly falling to then-No. 4 Ohio State, Indiana rattled off back-to-back wins at Michigan and at home against Minnesota, two competitive Big Ten opponents that are both above .500. Despite that, the committee clearly feels it needs to see more, making Saturday's matchup against No. 18 USC in Bloomington absolutely critical.
Just before kickoff, however, it was reported that backup quarterback Grant Wilson will be taking over for Josh Hoover as the starter. It will be Wilson's first start the 2026 season.
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Wilson, a sixth-year senior transfer who came over from Old Dominion before the 2025 season, spent last year backing up Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza and the majority of this year playing behind Hoover. Hoover has been solid in his first year at Indiana after transferring from TCU before the season, completing 60.2% of his passes for 1,860 yards and 19 touchdowns with just two interceptions. But he's been dealing with an injury to his right throwing arm and shoulder suffered during the loss to Ohio State on Oct. 17.
He battled through the last two games against Michigan and Minnesota, but his stats have dipped, and Wilson overtook him in the second half in the Minnesota game to lead a comeback. Hoover finished that game 8 of 19 for 119 yards and one touchdown with one interception, while Wilson went 9 of 19 for 156 yards and a touchdown without an interception, leading the Hoosiers to a dramatic 23-16 overtime win. He also added 26 yards on the ground, offering a rushing element to his game that Hoover doesn't have.
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Obviously, Curt Cignetti liked what he saw from Wilson enough to throw him in for the USC game and wanted to give Hoover more time to rest heading into a pivotal point in the season. After the Trojans, Indiana will travel to Washington before closing out their regular season at home against Purdue.
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