It had been 273 days since Indiana football last took the field inside Memorial Stadium in Bloomington.
On a picturesque 76-degree sunny Saturday afternoon, the No. 20 Hoosiers returned to the gridiron in front of their home fans — 47,109 of them.
Hoosier the Bison flew into the stadium via parachute. Fans waved white towels emblazoned with “NEVER DAUNTED” and “FAST. PHYSICAL. RELENTLESS.” on them. AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” blared throughout the stadium.
But with all the hype behind the Hoosiers, head coach Curt Cignetti wasn’t pleased with his squad’s performance even though it defeated Old Dominion University 27-14.
“Always good to get a win,” Cignetti said postgame. “Wins are hard to get. 1-0. But I guarantee you, everybody in this organization realizes we didn't play as well as we wanted to. That's just a flat-out fact.”
Indiana began the contest by allowing Old Dominion redshirt sophomore quarterback Colton Joseph to score a 75-yard rushing touchdown. Despite allowing Joseph to notch a 78-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter the Hoosiers’ defense didn’t allow the Monarchs to take a snap in Indiana territory.
However, it was the Hoosiers’ offense that missed numerous opportunities.
During Indiana’s first offensive series, it moved the ball at will. It took the Hoosiers just seven plays to reach the Monarchs’ 1-yard line. But from there, redshirt senior running back Roman Hemby ran the ball twice, sixth-year senior running back Kaelon Black once, while redshirt junior quarterback Fernando Mendoza tossed an incomplete pass to turn the ball over on downs.
The Hoosiers were again driving down the field their second time with the ball. However, redshirt junior running back Lee Beebe Jr. fumbled as the Cream and Crimson were entering the red zone.
Then, on its third series — after senior Jonathan Brady electrified the crowd with a 91-yard punt return to tie the game at 7 — Indiana again marched its way inside the Old Dominion 10-yard line.
And again, the Hoosiers stalled. Hemby ran the ball three times and reached the 1-yard line before losing three yards on third down. This time, unlike the first drive, Indiana settled for a Nicolas Radicic field goal to take a 3-point lead.
Mendoza, who was recently projected by CBS Sports to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, shouldered the responsibility for the Hoosiers’ inability to convert deep in Old Dominion territory.
“I would say that the slow start, I take accountability for that,” Mendoza said. “I think our offensive line played great, I think our receivers got open, I thought our running backs played great and I thought our tight ends blocked and caught the ball well.”
However, Cignetti wondered if Indiana’s red zone plan just wasn’t a very good one.
The Hoosiers' coaching staff review the low red zone and goal line plan on Thursdays, Cignetti said. He was “really concerned” about the plan in the lead-up to kickoff.
The second-year Indiana head coach said there weren’t many goal-line plays on film because of the explosive touchdowns the Hoosiers grew accustomed to scoring in their historic 2024 season.
On Saturday, Indiana certainly had its opportunities to find the endzone with similar explosive plays.
Mendoza tossed nearly a perfect pass to redshirt junior wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. just over four and a half minutes before halftime. With the endzone surely in his sights, Cooper Jr. bobbled and eventually dropped the ball.
Cignetti said he thought his squad had the Monarchs in a position where they could’ve “stuck a fork in them,” but failed to capitalize.
Then, early in the fourth quarter, freshman wide receiver LeBron Bond found open space past his defender down the right sideline. Mendoza tried to deliver another near perfect pass like he did to Cooper Jr., but the signal caller overthrew Bond.
Still, Mendoza finished his Indiana debut 18 for 31 for 193 yards passing. He also ran the ball six times for 34 yards and a touchdown.
But for the Miami native, squandering opportunities in the red zone isn’t playing up to the Hoosiers’ standard, Mendoza said.
“We got to finish, and I think that’s just an accountability part for myself, and I think the whole offense, if they were all standing right here, would take accountability with that,” Mendoza said. “I mean, that’s unacceptable because we had fantastic drives where we went right down to the 1, 2-yard line. We got to punch those in.”
Although Hemby had eight carries inside the Monarchs’ 10-yard line and failed to find the endzone each time, he still finished as the Hoosiers’ lead back. The Maryland transfer had 23 carries for 110 yards.
Hemby said “execution errors” were the reasoning for Indiana faltering deep in Old Dominion territory.
“We want to be better as an offense, and the first game is always a little tricky,” Hemby said, “but we’ll get back to the drawing board, watch some film and get it cleaned up.”
Excluding Indiana’s final drive of the game in which they ran out the clock, the Hoosiers made six trips to the red zone: two ended in touchdowns, two in field goals and two in turnovers on downs.
Even with the Hoosiers’ struggles and frustration, Saturday resembles the 2024 season opener. Indiana defeated Florida International University to begin Cignetti’s first season, but there were several mistakes it needed to clean up. It did.
Now, the Hoosiers find themselves in a familiar spot. And again, they have a quarterback under center who, although he has just played one game as a Hoosier, has the makings of one that can lead Indiana to another successful season.
Although Mendoza connected with Brady just twice Saturday, the latter has noticed a difference in the former from their season together at the University of California, Berkeley in 2024.
“He looks so much more happy here, like even just being with his brother (redshirt freshman quarterback Alberto Mendoza),” Brady said. “I know when I took my visit, I could just tell the energy shift, you know what I’m saying. His leadership has changed. He’s taken the next level to just Fernando Mendoza, and you can tell, you can see that.”
The Hoosiers’ next chance to display their improvement comes at noon Sept. 6, when they welcome Kennesaw State University to town. And for them to do so, Mendoza said he needs to get the ball to his receivers in better timing as they are getting out of their breaks at the top of their routes.
“I think I got to be better,” Mendoza said, “so we can work more as a well-oiled machine.”
If Mendoza can do so, perhaps the Hoosier faithful, who were itching to see their 2025 squad on the field, will have even more reason to be energetic before and throughout contests.
Dalton James covers Indiana football and basketball for the Indiana Daily Student. You can follow him at @DaltonMJames on X and contact him via email at jamesdm@iu.edu.
