ANN ARBOR, MI — Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti admitted the staff had a "lot of discussions" about replacing Josh Hoover in the second half of a 13-6 overtime win over Michigan on Saturday.
While Hoover wasn't listed on IU's availability report leading into the game, he wasn't 100% from an apparent injury he suffered against Ohio State. The No. 6 Hoosiers (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) put up only 49 yards of total offense in the second half with Hoover only attempting two passes during that stretch.
Late in the third quarter, Michigan scored its first points of the game after intercepting one of those attempts deep inside Indiana territory.
Cignetti considered pulling Hoover for backup Grant Wilson throughout the second half, but opted against it.
"There were a lot of discussions about Grant Wilson and Josh Hoover," Cignetti said. "Grant had a good week of practice. He's very capable, he's big, strong, can run. But I think at the end of the day, we felt like it's been Josh's season. And even though he's not 100%, we gotta finish it out with him. And he responded."
Hoover helped Indiana pull out the win in overtime by scoring the game's lone touchdown on a keeper off the right side line. He set up the score by throwing his longest completion of the day, a 21-yarder to tight end Brock Schott. It was his only completion after halftime.
This was only the second time in Hoover's career that he didn't complete at least 50% of his passes in a single game and the first time in 10 games that he didn't throw at least one passing touchdown. He finished 8 of 18 for 81 yards with an interception.
"We found a way to get it done," Cignetti said. "And probably surprised them with our decoy Brock Schott down the seam. And then who would have ever thought we'd run Josh down there for a touchdown? The element of surprise is still alive in college football."
Want more Hoosiers coverage? Sign up for IndyStar's Hoosiers newsletter. Listen to Mind Your Banners, our IU Athletics-centric podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the latest on IndyStar TV: Hoosiers.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Why Curt Cignetti stuck with injured Indiana quarterback Josh Hoover in win at Michigan