Indiana football has a starting quarterback in place for 2025. What about the Hoosiers’ opponents?

BLOOMINGTON — The Nico Iamaleava saga put a potential Heisman contender on Indiana football’s 2025 schedule.

Barring an unforeseen twist or injury, the Hoosiers will face the quarterback who dominated the headlines this spring when UCLA makes its first-ever trip to Bloomington on Oct. 25.

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The list of quarterbacks IU will face this fall was already shaping up to be a bit more daunting than last season before Iamaleava’s arrival. He is one of six starting quarterbacks the Hoosiers will face who have at least a full season of experience. Four of them have led teams to double-digit wins.

Here’s a look at the quarterbacks IU will likely face in the Big Ten this fall:

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Breaking down the Big Ten quarterbacks Indiana football will face in 2025

Sept. 20 vs. Illinois: Luke Altmyer

Altmyer will be an early season test for IU’s defense as a fifth-year senior with 23 career starts (31 appearances). Illinois tied the program’s single-season wins record last year at 10-3 with Altmyer starting all 13 games. The former Mississippi quarterback was as the nation’s only quarterback with three game-winning touchdown passes in the final two minutes or overtime. He threw for 2,717 yards (60.8%) with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions.

Sept. 27 vs. Iowa: TBD

Iowa landed South Dakota State transfer Mark Gronowski out of the transfer portal as it looks to replace Cade McNarama. Gronowski is a former Walter Payton Award winner (FCS Player of the Year) who won two national titles for the Jackrabbits and has a 49-6 career record. While he didn’t practice during the spring while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery — returning quarterback Brendan Sullivan and Auburn transfer Hank Brown competed for reps — he’s the heavy favorite to win the job.

Oct. 11 vs. Oregon: TBD

Oregon was a title contender in recent years while leaning on experienced quarterbacks (Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel) out of the transfer portal. This year the Ducks are letting underclassmen Dante Moore and Austin Novosad battle it out for the starting job. Moore redshirted last season for the Ducks, but started five games as a freshman for UCLA. The former five-star prospect was the No. 4 overall recruit in the 2023 signing class.

Oct. 18 vs. Michigan State: Aidan Chiles

Chiles, a former 4-star recruit, followed former Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith to East Lansing last season and the sophomore went through growing pains as the team’s Week 1 starter. The Spartans went 5-7 with Chiles completing less than 60% of his passes and turning the ball over 15 times (11 interceptions). The Hoosiers beat MSU 47-10 last year by pressuring Chiles on 16 of his 29 dropbacks.

Oct. 25 vs UCLA: Nico Iamaleava

This already had the making of an intriguing matchup with UCLA bringing in IU’s former quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri as offensive coordinator. Throwing Nico Iamaleava into the mix should bring some national attention to the game. The Bruins landed the former Tennessee starter in April after he unexpectedly entered the portal. He led the Vols to a 10-3 record last season with 2,616 yards (63.8%) with 19 passing touchdowns.

Nov. 1 vs. Maryland: TBD

Maryland’s quarterback competition between redshirt junior Justyn Martin and freshman Malik Washington took center stage in the spring game. Washington signed with the Terps as a four-star recruit out of Archbishop Spalding, a school 30 miles from Maryland’s campus. The fifth-ranked QB in the 2025 signing class made a strong impression in the spring game with 168 yards and two touchdowns. While Maryland coach Mike Locksley hasn’t named a starter, he spoke highly of Washington and made it clear he’s mature enough to be the team’s Week 1 starter.

Nov. 8 vs. Penn State: Drew Allar

Allar is one of the nation’s top returning quarterbacks, coming off his career-best season for the Nittany Lions. He had his team on the doorstep of the College Football Playoff championship game while throwing for 3,327 yards (66.5%) with 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Allar has already thrown for the sixth most passing yards in PSU history (6,302) and third most passing touchdowns (53).

Nov. 15 vs. Wisconsin: Billy Edwards

Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell described Billy Edwards as “THE guy” heading into the team’s spring game. It wasn’t exactly a surprising development considering the program’s social media team described the Maryland transfer as “QB1” on the first day of spring camp. The fifth-year senior threw for 2,811 yards and 15 touchdowns for the Terps last season in 11 starts. Cignetti once recruited the former preps standout and Edwards threw for 289 yards against the Hoosiers last season.

Nov. 29 vs. Purdue: TBD

Purdue’s quarterback situation was still very much in flux coming out of spring camp under new coach Barry Odom. The Boilermakers had four quarterbacks (Arkansas transfer Malachi Singleton, Washington State transfer Evans Chuba, Bennett Meredith and EJ Colson) taking reps. They had additional roster movement after camp wrapped up with Colson entering the portal and Ryan Browne returning after a brief stint at North Carolina. The competition will pick back up in the fall with Browne, Singleton, Chuba and Meredith all vying for the job.

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Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana football: Breaking down the Big Ten QBs the Hoosiers will face in 2025