Indiana vs. North Texas: 2026 College Football Season Opener Preview and Betting Odds

The reigning CFP champion Indiana Hoosiers will begin their title defense when they open their season versus the North Texas Mean Green on Saturday. No. 5 Indiana posted a 16-0 record a year ago and are 27-2 under Curt Cignetti, who enters his third year with the program.

North Texas is also coming off a historic season in its own right, as its 12-2 record in 2025 marked the most wins in program history. Neal Brown, who was formerly the head coach at Troy and West Virginia, is the new coach at North Texas after Eric Morris left for Oklahoma State following last season.

Kickoff is set for noon ET from Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind. The Hoosiers are 40.5-point favorites in the latest North Texas vs. Indiana odds, while the over/under is 56.5. Before making any Indiana vs. North Texas picks, check out the Indiana vs. North Texas predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.

The model simulates every FBS game 10,000 times. It is on a 32-19 run on top-rated CFB money-line picks on betting sites since the 2024 season, and it has been upgraded for the 2026 season to even better factor in the transfer portal. Anybody following its college football betting picks could have seen strong returns.

Now, the model has set its sights on Indiana vs. North Texas. You can visit SportsLine now to see the picks. Here are the FBS college football odds and trends for North Texas vs. Indiana:

Top Indiana vs. North Texas predictions for Dublin

After 10,000 simulations of Indiana vs. UNT, the SportsLine model is recommending going Over (56.5 points) on the total at the best betting apps. Indiana was the best team in the land last year, but the best offense in college football resided in the DFW. North Texas led FBS in points per game, yards per game and offensive touchdowns. Thus, it's no surprise the Over connected in 71% of its games (10-4), while the Over was also 10-6 for the Hoosiers.

Since Cignetti took over in 2024, the Over is 18-11 (62.1%) for IU, which is the third-highest rate of any Power 4 team. Thus, the Hoosiers can run up the score with or without Fernando Mendoza under center. Add in that the last meeting between these teams saw 73 total points, and the model has taken these factors into account when forecasting the total to be eclipsed. The advanced model calls for 60 combined points to be scored as the Over hits 58% of the time.

How to make North Texas vs. Indiana picks

SportsLine's model has simulated Indiana vs. North Texas 10,000 times and says one side of the spread hits nearly 70% of the time. You can only get the pick at SportsLine.