BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Quarterback Josh Hoover came to Indiana knowing that in coach Curt Cignetti's program, toughness isn't optional.
He looked the picture of Hoosier grit as Indiana's new starter Saturday.
He threw four touchdown passes, had only three incompletions, finished with no turnovers and delivered an indelible image during Saturday's 52-16 victory over North Texas that is a lock to make this season's highlights — his bloodied face and chin strap, after an opponent yanked hard on his facemask.
Hoover never flinched.
“It feels good, I just got a little cut there," he said, referring to his injured nose. “It looked way worse than it felt. I didn't even know it was bleeding like that, so, yeah, I feel good. I think it did me a favor, though. It looked worse than it was, so they were like ‘Hey, this guy’s tough,' but it didn't really do anything."
Hoover finished 13 of 16 for 231 yards. This may be exactly the kind of start he needed after transferring from TCU back to the school he initially committed to in high school.
He's replacing 2025 Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall draft pick Fernando Mendoza, who led the Hoosiers to their first national championship last season and capped their perfect 16-0 run with his own iconic image — spinning into the end zone for the decisive score in January's national championship game. It's been replayed countless times since then, including during the Hoosiers' pregame celebration on the large video board.
Now, Hoover already has a signature moment.
“God i love football. Josh hoover, you sir are a patriot,” Indiana running back Lee Beebe Jr. posted on his X account following the game, linking to the replay.
Midway through the second quarter, Hoover was under duress — it didn't happen often Saturday — when Udoka Ezeani grabbed him by the face mask and spun him around, knocking him to the ground. Ezeani was called for the penalty, wiping out a sack and moving the ball to the North Texas 14-yard line, but the evidence was all over Hoover's helmet.
Three plays later, he hooked up with Charlie Becker on a 9-yard TD pass, the first of two scores for the duo, to extend Indiana's lead to 21-3.
“I didn’t see it either, I saw it on the tablet,” said Cignetti, the two-time Associated Press Coach of the Year. “I saw it on his face and his pants afterward. I thought he played well. I’m sure he earned the respect of his teammates based on his performance today, and he’s a veteran, and I’m glad he had a good opener.”
Hoover downplayed the injury, the scene and his own toughness for one reason — he wanted to celebrate the victory.
"Yeah, I've broken my nose a couple times, it happens,” Hoover said. “I don't know what caught it, I think probably just inside the helmet there's a microphone in there, all that sharp stuff, so who knows.”
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Indiana quarterback Josh Hoover (10) hands off to running back Turbo Richard (1) during the first half of an NCAA college football game against North Texas, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in Bloomington, Ind. (AP Photo/Doug McSchooler)
NEW YORK (AP) — Zheng Qinwen was on her back with her arms in the air, celebrating a U.S. Open victory maybe only she believed was possible.
Madison Keys fought off tears as she tried to explain how Zheng, way down and all but out, somehow got the win.
Zheng, the Olympic gold medalist, extended her return to the U.S. Open on Saturday with a spectacular and stunning rally, winning the final seven games to eliminate No. 22 Keys 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5.
“I feel like I obviously got off to a really good lead, and then I just got really — I mean, got really scared, like I couldn’t swing,” Keys said. “I don’t know. Tennis just feels really hard right now, so I feel like that kind of took over.”
No. 9 Taylor Fritz also went out in a shocker, blowing a two-set lead and falling to No. 24 Francisco Cerundolo 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
“I don’t know how I let that happen today,” Fritz said.
Amanda Anisimova, like Fritz and Keys a past runner-up at the U.S. Open, also was knocked out when the No. 10 seed lost to No. 24 Anastasia Potapova 6-2, 7-5. No. 5 Flavio Cobolli, the French Open runner-up, lost in four sets to No. 28 Alexander Blockx to leave the men's draw without six of the top 10 seeds.
Keys won a three-set match in the previous round in a match tiebreaker when she fought off five match points. Two days later came a collapse that was as out-of-nowhere as that comeback.
The 2017 runner-up rebounded after losing the second-set tiebreaker to charge out to 5-0 lead. Zheng held but Keys had a match point while serving at 5-1, and once she couldn't convert that, the turnaround was on, with Keys at one point banging her racket into her head repeatedly and pulling off her visor in disgust.
“I’m just telling myself keep holding every single point, never give up, stay there and somehow little by little it just happened,” Zheng said.
She won the gold medal for China at the 2024 Olympics after reaching the Australian Open final that year, and has been ranked as high as No. 4. But after elbow surgery, she is down to No. 121 and had to go through qualifying just to make the main draw.
“The hard work pays off,” said Zheng, who will play 2022 U.S. Open champion Iga Swiatek next.
Zheng's victory set up the potential for a big day for top Asian women at the U.S. Open. Naomi Osaka, the two-time champion from Japan, was in action against No. 23 Elise Mertens on Saturday night, while No. 17 Alex Eala from the Philippines faced 14th-seeded American Iva Jovic in a matchup of promising young players.
Coco Gauff, the 2023 U.S. Open champion, beat Cristina Bucsa 6-3, 6-4 and will face the Eala-Jovic winner in her latest trip to the round of 16 at a major.
“Honestly, I feel like I’m definitely used to getting to Week 2s now because I feel like I woke up today and I was like, ’Oh, we’re already in Round 3,'” Gauff said. “So, I think that’s a good sign, just feeling like I’m not feeling tired.”
Keys, who won the 2025 Australian Open for her lone Grand Slam title, said she was going to have to make some unspecified changes she has been putting off.
“I think she started playing better; I started playing poorly,” Keys said. “Then I felt like I couldn’t play tennis anymore, and it just felt like it was a much bigger deal than just playing a tennis match all of a sudden.”
Fritz stormed through his first two rounds, losing a total of 11 games, and there was no hint of trouble when he broke Cerundolo to open the third set. But Cerundolo broke right back and started to feel more comfortable in his first time playing in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“I think fourth and fifth I played a really good tennis that I wasn’t finding that tennis in the previous sets and the previous rounds,” the Argentine said.
Anisimova missed repeated chances by converting just 3 of 16 break-point chances (19%). Potapova, a 25-year-old who was born in Russia but now represents Austria, went 6 for 8 and matched her best showing in a Grand Slam tournament by reaching the fourth round.
Anisimova made the final at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2025, falling to Aryna Sabalenka in Flushing Meadows. But after reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, the American was eliminated in the third round of the last three majors this year.
Potapova will play No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva, the French Open champion.
Top-seeded man Alexander Zverev, who had to win five-setters in the first two rounds, faced No. 25 seed Alejandro Tabilo in a night match.
See AP’s full tennis coverage here
Taylor Fritz, of the United States, sits during a break from play during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships against Francisco Cerundolo, of Argentina, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Madison Keys, of the United States, reacts after she lost her match to Zheng Qinwen, of China, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Zheng Qinwen, of China, celebrates after she won her match against Madison Keys, of the United States, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Anastasia Potapova, of Austria, reacts after she won her match against Amanda Anisimova, of the United States, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Amanda Anisimova, of the United States, reacts during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships against Anastasia Potapova, of Austria, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Madison Keys, of the United States, returns the ball to Zheng Qinwen, of China, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Zheng Qinwen, of China, celebrates after she won her match against Madison Keys, of the United States, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Zheng Qinwen, of China, gestures after she won her match against Madison Keys, of the United States, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
