After rolling to a 52-16 victory over North Texas in Week 1, professional oddsmakers are setting the bar high for the Indiana Hoosiers once again in Week 2.
The Hoosiers were a 40.5-point favorite against the Mean Green, but their 36-point victory wasn't enough to cover the spread. Despite that, oddsmakers have made the spread even bigger for this weekend's matchup against Howard. Part of that has to do with Howard being an FCS team, but it's also due to Indiana's electric performance in the season opener.
Indiana's strong season opener leads to massive spread in Week 2
Vegas oddsmakers are extremely confident in Indiana's ability to put forth another dominating performance in Week 2. As of this publishing, the Hoosiers are favored by a whopping 55.5 points over the Bison on FanDuel Sportsbook. To show just how much is expected of Curt Cignetti and company, FanDuel isn't even offering moneyline odds for this contest.
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Furthermore, the total, or over/under, is listed at 64.5. The massive 55.5-point spread indicates that Indiana is expected to almost reach that total themselves. The Hoosier offense was extremely explosive in the season opener, scoring 52 points despite having a time of possession of just 22:38. It seems that Vegas made sure to make note of that efficiency.
Most notably, Josh Hoover put forth an eye-opening Hoosier debut by completing 13 of his 16 pass attempts for 231 yards and 4 touchdowns. It was the best debut for a Hoosier transfer QB in the Curt Cignetti era, and gave IU football fans a lot to be excited about.
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Howard is in a new era under first-year head coach Ted White. He takes the reins at his alma mater, as he played quarterback for the Bison from 1995-1998. White had a successful career at Howard, and was named the MEAC Offensive Player of the Year in 1996. He also previously coached at Howard from 2011-15 when he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The Bison have not finished above the .500-mark since 2017, something White is looking to change.
Howard has already played two games this season. The Bison won their season opener 31-24 against Alabama A&M in Week 0 and fell to Richmond 28-21 in Week 1. QB Ja'Shawn Scroggins is off to a strong start, as he's thrown for 424 yards and 4 touchdowns through his first 2 games. He is also Howard's leading rusher with 88 yards on 28 carries.
Indiana should roll to a big victory in this contest. The Hoosiers have a huge talent gap and should be able to find the win column with extreme ease. Kick-off is set for Noon ET on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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