The reigning national champion Indiana Hoosiers will play host to the Howard Bison on Saturday, fresh off a dominant win over North Texas to start the season. Howard, meanwhile, suffered a one-score home loss to Richmond in Week 1 and is now 1-1 on the year.
Indiana is a 56.5-point favorite at home on Saturday, all while the point total has been set at 64.5. Here is a preview of the Week 2 showdown featuring odds and lines from DraftKings Sportsbook.
Howard Bison vs. Indiana Hoosiers Preview
Howard Preview
The Bison opened up their season against another HBCU, facing Alabama A&M in Atlanta. Howard emerged with a 31-24 victory, surviving a fourth quarter comeback thanks to a 51-yard, game-winning touchdown pass in the final minutes. After winning by a touchdown in Week 0, though, the Bison fell 28-21 to Richmond back at home. Howard was down 20-0 at halftime, fought back to cut it to a seven-point gap early in the fourth quarter, but punted on their final two possessions and wound up taking the loss.
Through two games – both against FCS opponents – Howard is averaging 122.5 rushing yards and 215.5 passing yards per game, posting 3.2 yards per carry and 6.6 yards per pass attempt. They are allowing 89.0 rushing yards per game on 3.5 yards per carry, plus 257.5 passing yards per game on 6.8 yards per attempt. And while the Bison convert just 32.4% of their third down conversions, they are 4-for-4 on fourth downs.
Quarterback Ja’Shawn Scroggins completed 19-of-36 passes for 315 yards and three touchdowns in Week 0, also rushing for 49 yards. He took a major step back in Week 1, going just 9-for-27 with 109 yards, a touchdown and an interception, as well as 39 rushing yards. Running back Travis Kerney is the Bison’s No. 2 rusher with 81 yards on 26 carries, while Billy Roberson II has 65 rushing yards on 14 carries. Wide receivers Se’Quan Osborne, Antonio Hunter, Semaje Pierre and Zaden Jackson each average over 20 yards per reception, but tight end Nathanial Clark leads the team with eight catches.
Ted White is in his first year as Howard’s head coach, stepping in after Larry Scott left to become the Auburn tight ends coach. Under Scott, the Bison won conference titles in 2022 and 2023, but went just 9-15 between 2024 and 2025. They lost 55-7 to Temple in their lone game against an FBS opponent last year, then 44-7 to Rutgers the year before that. White spent the past few years as an assistant with the Houston Texans, UCLA and Maryland.
Indiana Preview
Coming off a perfect 16-0 season, the Hoosiers opened up the year with a 52-16 win against North Texas. The Mean Green, who went 12-2 last year, could only muster up one touchdown in their first game under coach Neal Brown. Indiana never trailed and moved up from No. 6 to No. 5 in the AP Poll when Monday rolled around.
TCU transfer quarterback Josh Hoover may or may not be Fernando Mendoza, but he played a near perfect game in Week 1. The signal-caller went 13-for-16 with 231 yards and four touchdowns through the air, giving him a FBS-leading 285.0 passer rating. As the starter at TCU in 2024 and 2025, Hoover completed 66.2% of his passes for 7,421 yards, 56 touchdowns, 27 interceptions and a 152.2 passer rating. Hoover – who measures in at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds – has eight rushing touchdowns but just -10 rushing yards for his career and did not record a single carry against UNT.
The Hoosiers’ backfield made up for the lack of Hoover’s lack of rushing production. Backup quarterback Grant Wilson notched a 43-yard touchdown run, for one. Turbo Richard posted 96 yards and two touchdowns from scrimmage after racking up 962 yards and 11 touchdowns at Boston College in 2025. Lee Beebe wasn’t quite as efficient, rushing for just 33 yards on 14 carries. As for the receiving corps, Charlie Becker led the way with 64 yards and two touchdowns on four catches. Davion Chandler also reeled in a 42-yard touchdown, all after his lone catch as a freshman in 2025 was a 65-yard touchdown.
On the other side of the ball, Indiana allowed North Texas to complete 23 of 29 passes. However, they kept their opponent contained, holding the Mean Green’s starting QB to a meager 5.3 adjusted yards per attempt. UNT recorded 4.0 yards per carry, too.
In their only game against an FCS opponent in 2025, the Hoosiers stomped Indiana State 73-0. Coach Curt Cignetti led Indiana to a 77-3 win over Western Illinois in 2024, despite it being only his second game with the program.
Howard Bison vs. Indiana Hoosiers Pick, Best Bets
As seen in last week’s win over North Texas, when Indiana scored 21 points in the fourth quarter, Cignetti wasn’t quick to take his foot off the gas. Breaking 70 points in both of his previous games against FCS opponents is also notable heading into this weekend. Indiana won those games by 73 and 74 points, respectively.
With Hoover already proving he has what it takes against an FBS team, he shouldn’t have too much trouble carving up a flawed Howard squad. Scroggins, on the other hand, had a brutal showing at home against an FCS team last week and now has to hit the road to face even stiffer competition. I like the over here – not because I think the Bison are going to contribute much to the point total, but just because I believe the Hoosiers are just going to be that dominant all on their own.
Best Bet: O 64.5 (-112)
Strong Lean: Indiana -56.5 (-112)
