Indiana Hoosiers football coach Curt Cignetti is not one to mince words, so if you’re going to take a shot at one of his players, you’d better be ready for some return fire.
For the past two and a half seasons, Josh Hoover was the starting quarterback for the TCU Hurned Frogs. He transferred to Indiana this past offseason and is in line to replace Fernando Mendoza, which probably left a bad taste in TCU coach Sonny Dykes’ mouth. Dykes, speaking last week with Frogs Today, took a bit of a shot at Hoover when discussing the 2026 team’s emphasis on cutting down on turnovers under new offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis.
“Look, numbers are numbers and stats are stats,” Dykes said. “I think Josh started 31 games here as a quarterback, and we turned the ball over 40 — he turned the ball over 42 times in those 31 starts. And you look at Gordy was the offensive coordinator last year at Connecticut, and their quarterback turned it over twice.”
Hoover threw for 9,629 yards and 71 touchdowns with the Horned Frogs, but he also threw 33 interceptions and lost nine fumbles (14 total).
On Thursday, Cignetti praised Hoover’s “body of work” at TCU, highlighting his wins, passing yards, and touchdowns. He also didn’t shy away from offering a reason for why the quarterback might have had so many turnovers at TCU.
Indiana QB Josh Hoover caught some flack from TCU coach Sonny Dykes for his turnovers.
Curt Cignetti had Hoover’s back this afternoon:
“When Josh got here, he met his two new best friends: Great defense and a really good run game.
“And he was never the same after that.” #iufb pic.twitter.com/ERgpPUkKJ7
— Jared Kelly (@Jared_Kelly7) April 2, 2026
“We’ve got to clean up some of the turnovers, obviously, which Coach Dykes made light of,” Cignetti said. “But when Josh got here, he met his two new best friends: great defense and a really good run game, and he was never the same after that.”
The Hoosiers coach winked at reporters afterward.
Cignetti is clearly referencing TCU’s 2025 rankings: 100th in rushing and 73rd in defense. Indiana finished 12th nationally in rushing, fourth in total defense, and second in points allowed last year, going undefeated and winning the school’s first national title.
Indiana and TCU aren’t slated to play one another, but on the chance that they meet in the College Football Playoff, expect all of this to be top of mind.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.