Indiana football faces Old Dominion on Saturday. Get ready for game day with our weekly preview, "The Runout."
BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football linebacker Aiden Fisher just wants to trash talk someone not wearing the crimson and cream.
The senior joked with reporters this week about recent practices feeling like Groundhog Day.
"It was me and Pat Coogan every day," Fisher said with a smile. "We are sick of it at this point."
Fisher, who became IU's first-ever All-American linebacker last season, will be a tone-setter for a defense looking to build on the success it had last season. The Hoosiers held opposing teams to 256.3 yards (No. 2 in the FBS) and 15.6 points per game (No. 6).
The experienced defender came out of fall camp feeling like this year's group could be even better.
"Honestly, I think we have a bit more speed this year," Fisher said. "I know a lot of guys put an emphasis on speed training all throughout the offseason. Every year we have a fast and physical defense, but this year it feels like at every position we have a guy that can really take the top off if needed, chasing someone down, fill in the alley covering someone, I think speed is going to be the difference."
Indiana heads into its season-opener against Old Dominion as 23.5 point favorites, but Fisher and the rest of the former JMU players on the team know how dangerous Group of Five teams out of the Sun Belt can be.
"When we played UVA (in 2023), you kind of make it look like they are talking down on you, that you are not good enough," Fisher said. "I'm sure they are thinking the same thing, a lot of those guys weren't recruited highly or transferred, I know the message being sent to them. It's one that will get you going, but we have a target on our backs. We are expecting it when they come in here."
For more on IU's Week 1 matchup, jump into our weekly preview, The Runout, for what stood out during the week, players to watch, a prediction and more.
Indiana football vs. Old Dominion: Tale of the tape
- When: Saturday, Aug. 30 at 2:30 p.m. ET
- Where: Memorial Stadium (52,626), Bloomington, Indiana
- TV: FS1
- Line: Indiana -23.5
- Series: N/A
- Last meeting: N/A
Indiana football players to watch vs Old Dominion
Mikail Kamara, DE: Can Kamara be the same kind of game-wrecker he was last season with the amount of attention he'll get from opposing teams?
This will be a nice test for the defensive end who led the FBS with 68 quarterback pressures last season. He will go up against an ODU offensive line on Saturday that has good size and returning starters at both tackle spots.
Former Illinois offensive lineman Zach Barlev, a 6-foot-4, 318-pound senior who earned All-Sun Belt honors last season, is expected to anchor the left side of the line while Stephon Dubose-Bourne, who has 23 career starts, is a returning starter at right tackle.
The only way for Kamara to reach the lofty goals he's set for himself — one of those is breaking Greg Middleton's single-season sack record (16.0) — is picking up right where he left off last season.
Kahlil Benson, OL: Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti revealed a bit of news on his weekly radio Thursday night while previewing the season-opener against Old Dominion.
Cignetti told host Don Fischer that Kahlil Benson will get the start at right tackle over Ohio State transfer Zen Michalski. He joins a starting group that Cignetti said will feature Carter Smith at left tackle, Drew Evans at left guard, Pat Coogan at center and Bray Lynch at right guard.
The Hoosiers exited fall camp with Benson and Michalski battling for the starting spot that Trey Wedig held down last season. Wedig was IU's highest graded offensive lineman (83.5) and run blocker (85.1) in 2024, per Pro Football Focus.
"Kahlil Benson started at right tackle the year before I was hired," Cignetti said at Hoosier Hank's in Bloomington. "When I got hired he was in the portal already, went to Colorado and heard such great things about the new Indiana he wanted to come back with his buddy Louis Moore. Right now, he's the starting right tackle and we got Zen from Ohio State would be backing up the guard and tackle positions going into this game."
Cignetti's high expectations for the group mean that Benson will have to hit the ground running on Saturday.
Fernando Mendoza, QB: Indiana didn't bother with any subterfuge at quarterback during the offseason. Mendoza, the No. 4 ranked transfer at the position, was the starter the minute he signed with the Hoosiers.
He got to work building a rapport with the offense and learning a system that's been the foundation of Cignetti's 14 straight winning seasons.
Mendoza already has a 3,000-yard passing season under his belt and has generated plenty of draft buzz before attempting a single pass attempt in Bloomington. If Mendoza plays like a top five pick all season long, IU might surpass even the loftiest preseason expectations.
Indiana football: Week 1 Odds and Ends
Looking Sharpe: Indiana cornerback Jamari Sharpe exited spring camp working with the first-team defense. Cignetti made it sound like he held onto that spot throughout fall camp when asked about who would start opposite D'Angelo Ponds. "I thought Sharpe came on at the end of last season," Cignetti said. "He started the last three or four games for us, and he's picked up where he left off. Got a lot of confidence in him." Sharpe has started 12 career games with much of that experience coming in 2023 as a redshirt freshman. The patience he showed as a key reserve last season looks like it paid off.
Running it back: Indiana's competition at running back ended in a draw of sorts. Cignetti sounded like he will stick to a rotation that includes his top three backs, Roman Hemby, Lee Beebe Jr. and Kaelon Black. Black was part of Cignetti's first signing class at JMU, but Hemby (Maryland) and Beebe (UAB) are both new additions. It's a strategy that's long been successful for Cignetti and he doesn't see a reason to change it.
Rules are rules: Old Dominion coach Ricky Rahne doesn't expect Cignetti's offense to look radically different from the one the Monarchs faced in 2022 and 2023. Rahne traced Cignetti's success to the "unbending" principles that form the basis of that offensive scheme and his ability to work in new concepts tailored to his new personnel, specifically, the transfer quarterbacks he's signed in recent years. "It's looked differently with the quarterbacks, but at the same time you can see it's the same. You can still see it's the same offensive scheme and offensive philosophy," Rahne said.
Kindred spirits: Cignetti told reporters on Monday he feels 'good' about the overall health of his team coming out of fall camp. It's about as detailed as he gets on a weekly basis — he will make an exception for players who suffer a season-ending injury — but he leaves the rest to the Big Ten's weekly availability reports. Old Dominion coach Ricky Rahne is the same way. "I won't discuss them," he said of injuries during his weekly press conference previewing the game. Rahne was asked about the availability of linebacker Koa Naotala, who led the team in tackles last year, "he's going to do everything in his power to be out, you name the week ... he's going to do everything he can."
Indiana football stat of the week
29: Indiana has a veteran-laden roster with 29 players in their final year of eligibility, a mark that tied for third most in the FBS with Illinois and UAB, per research done by Georgia Tech's athletic communications. The list includes four Hoosiers who were recognized as preseason All-Americans by multiple outlets (Aiden Fisher, Mikail Kamara, D'Angelo Ponds and Elijah Sarratt). Cignetti brought back a total of 53 players from last year and signed 24 transfers (12 on offense, eight on defense and four on special teams) to fill out the roster.
Indiana football quote of the week
Prediction: Indiana 38, Old Dominion 20
Old Dominion has been a middle-of-the-pack Sun Belt team for much of coach Ricky Rahne's tenure, but Cignetti will spend the days leading up to the season-opener highlighting the Monarchs' recent success against Power Four opponents that includes a pair of wins over Virginia Tech and a series of near upsets against South Carolina, Wake Forest and Virgina.
The Hoosiers can avoid a similar fate with a focused effort from the defense against a potent ODU running game — forcing a turnover or two wouldn't hurt — that will allow the offense some time to get into a rhythm.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Everything you need to know about IU football facing Old Dominion
Category: General Sports
