Indiana is pursuing history this fall with eyes on a national championship repeat, and Michigan State transfer Nick Marsh fired the first salvo with a breathtaking touchdown catch on the first possession of the first game of the season.
It took the No. 6 Hoosiers just 1 minute, 20 seconds to score their first points in Saturday afternoon’s season opener against North Texas, and someone who wasn’t even a part of last year’s magical 16-0 season did the honors with a 15-yard touchdown catch that could be IU’s play of the year in the season’s opening moments.
It also was a historical play because it was another transfer, quarterback Josh Hoover, who came to Bloomington from TCU, who fired his first touchdown pass as a Hoosier on the play. So Indiana’s new passing combination of Hoover to Marsh was on full display before the home fans could even get comfortable in their seats.
And after the sensational play by Marsh, it’s likely that many of those fans were out of their seats very quickly. It happened on a 3rd-and-5 play at the North Texas 15-yard line, and if Marsh hadn’t done the deed on this play and caught the ball, Indiana likely would have had to settle for a field goal.
But Hoover threw the ball where only Marsh could catch it, and Marsh did just that with a nifty grab to give IU a 7-0 lead.
Indiana was off and running in Week 1 against North Texas, as the Hoosiers begin the pursuit of a repeat national title in 2026. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about Indiana’s chances to do just that in late January:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
