Coming off a historic National Championship-winning season, fans of Indiana football are already gearing up for the 2026 college football season. With Curt Cignetti continuing to lead the program, the Hoosiers have plenty of staying power in 2026 and figure to compete for another national title. Needless to say, it's an exciting time to be a Hoosier football fan!
While the start of the new campaign is still over three months away, game times and TV assignments are beginning to become public knowledge. Indiana now knows the exact kick-off times for the first five games of the season, and fans now know where to tune in to watch the action unfold.
When Week 1 comes around, the defending national champs will be front and center of the college football world.
Indiana's Week 1 game to be featured on FOX's Big Noon Kickoff
The Hoosiers open up their title-defending season on Saturday, September 5 with a home matchup against North Texas. The game will be nationally televised on FOX, and will be a part of the network's "Big Noon Kickoff" show. Live coverage from Memorial Stadium is set to begin at 10 a.m. ET, with kick-off against the Mean Green coming at Noon.
The broadcast crew will consists of Gus Johnson handling play-by-play duties and Joel Klatt as the analyst. Jenny Taft will handle sideline reporting responsibilities. The pregame show will feature a panel featuring host Rob Stone as well as Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram, Matt Leinart, Brady Quinn and Dave Portnoy.
As the defending national champs, it's great to see Indiana get the national spotlight to start the season. The season-opening contest will likely feature a National Championship ceremony before the game paying homage to last year's historic title team.
Primetime with @gusjohnson, @joelklatt and @JennyTaft 🤩
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) May 28, 2026
Big Noon Saturdays are almost here ⏳🔜🏈 pic.twitter.com/gBjiCXOfnN
Nationally-televised games are the new norm in Bloomington under Curt Cignetti
The job Cignetti has done in Bloomington has taken the college football world by storm, and the Hoosiers are looking to keep the momentum rolling into the 2026 campaign. That effort begins by putting forth a convincing effort against North Texas on September 5.
For a program that struggled to find consistent national television time over the past several decades, prime time TV selections are becoming the norm for Indiana with Cignetti at the helm. The upcoming September 5 game against North Texas won't be the first time that Big Noon Kickoff comes to Bloomington.
Curt Cignetti sounds the alarm saying college football changes can’t wait much longer
Over the past two seasons, Big Noon has been at Memorial Stadium on three occasions. Indiana first hosted the FOX pregame show on two occasions in 2024 when IU hosted Nebraska and Michigan. This past season, Big Noon was in town for Indiana's matchup against UCLA on October 25.
Indiana is 3-0 under Cignetti when Big Noon Kickoff is in town. Furthermore, the Hoosiers are a perfect 15-0 at home during Cignetti's tenure. When September 5 rolls around, IU football fans are sure to pack The Rock as the Cream and Crimson begin the new season with hopes of another national title.
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