No. 5 Indiana will host Northwestern on Friday in a Week 3 college football matchup on FOX. Coming off its first national championship in school history, Indiana is 3-0 to start 2026, outscoring its opponents by a combined score of 145-16.
But Indiana is only one of two ranked teams to have not played a power conference opponent yet as its wins have come over North Texas, Howard and Western Kentucky. Replacing Fernando Mendoza was never going to be easy, but TCU transfer Josh Hoover has been very solid so far. Hoover has completed 37 of 51 passes (72.5%) for 649 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions to begin the season.
But now his first real test awaits. Northwestern is coming off a dominating 41-7 win over Colorado last week, and sit 2-0 on the season. The Wildcats defense forced the Buffs into four turnovers, and Aidan Chiles balled out, completing 17 of his 22 passes for 241 and five total touchdowns, the most of his college football career.
So can Northwestern keep that momentum going and pull off a huge upset against the defending champs? Let’s take a look at the odds for Indiana vs. Northwestern at FanDuel Sportsbook as of Sept.
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Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports. Moneyline Spread Over/Under From FOX Sports Research: The Hoosiers are coming off back-to-back shutouts. They haven’t faced a tough test yet, but the same was true early last season, when they went on to finish 16-0 and win the national championship.
In their first Big Ten game of 2025, they beat Illinois 63-10. We expect a similar result here. Northwestern impressed against Colorado, but following up that performance on the road against the defending champs is a tall order.
Curt Cignetti will have the Hoosiers ready to make a statement in their first meaningful game of the season. Take the Hoosiers to win big. How to Watch Indiana vs.
Northwestern
