Hoosiers misspelled ‘Indiana’ on jersey for season-opener vs. Iowa

Indiana’s season opener couldn’t have gone much worse on Saturday, as the No. 17-ranked Hoosiers suffered a demoralizing 34-6 defeat at No. 18 Iowa.

Unbeknownst to the team, it had already committed a critical error before the players even took the field at Kinnick Stadium: In a since-deleted tweet, the program’s athletic department posted a photo of players taking the field; one was freshman running back David Holloman, whose jersey somehow featured a misspelled version of the team name.

Behold, “Indinia.”

BENDER: College football Week 1 takeaways

Indiana later tweeted a photo sans spelling errors, but wasn’t quick enough. The picture quickly made the rounds across social media, drawing the scorn of internet trolls and copy editors everywhere. To their credit, it appears Holloman’s jersey was the only one with the issue.

That was the least of the team’s worries, however. Tom Allen’s Hoosiers, fresh off a season in which they went 6-2 (6-1 in Big Ten play), had high expectations in their season-opener. The Hawkeyes brought them to earth after taking a 14-0 lead in the first 2:15 of Saturday’s game. The first score was a 56-yard touchdown run from Tyler Goodson, then a 30-yard interception return for touchdown from Riley Moss on Indiana’s ensuing possession.

Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. completed 14 of 31 passes for 156 yards and three interceptions, two returned for touchdowns. The running game didn’t fare much better, as the team rushed 31 times for a combined 77 yards, good for a 2.5 yard-per-carry average. Indiana scored only two field goals from kicker Charles Campbell.

The defense limited Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras to a 13-of-27 day through the air, surrendering only 145 passing yards and recovering two Hawkeyes fumbles. But it also allowed the big touchdown from Goodson, and another rushing score from Petras.

The Hoosiers return to action against Idhao — er, “Idaho” — at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.