“Always good to get a win,” Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti said, opening his postgame press conference. “Wins are hard to get.”
The second-year head coach delivered the statement following the Hoosiers’ 27-14 win over Old Dominion University on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington.
A similar sentiment was echoed by redshirt junior quarterback Fernando Mendoza shortly after the veteran claimed his first Indiana victory since transferring from the University of California, Berkeley last December.
“Never take a win for granted,” he said. “1-0, that’s fantastic.”
Indiana certainly made mistakes in its season opener. Indiana’s defense allowed the Monarchs’ redshirt sophomore quarterback Colton Joseph to have both a 75- and 78-yard touchdown run. On the offensive side, redshirt junior wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr.’s drop on a would-be touchdown catch exemplified a Hoosier passing attack that never quite found its rhythm.
The Hoosiers’ red zone offense was particularly abysmal. Mendoza and company were held out of the endzone while inside the opposing 10-yard line on four separate drives. Indiana was stopped from one yard out on four straight plays during its first drive of the game.
“When you have opportunities to score touchdowns, you've got to score them,” Cignetti said. “That's what we did really well last year. When we had the opportunities, we made the plays.”
The groans and critiques from those in Memorial Stadium were there were likely loud enough to convey the frustration to any passerby within earshot. Nicely put, Indiana’s win over Old Dominion was messy.
However, both Cignetti and Mendoza were quick to showcase an attribute rarely found among college football fanatics — perspective.
It’s the first week of the season, 253 days since the Hoosiers last had real game reps. While Saturday afternoon’s mistakes aren’t excusable, they also aren’t reason to panic. The temptation to fixate on miscues can cloud more encouraging signs, which were plentiful during Indiana’s win.
The Hoosiers’ rushing attack featured an efficient three-man rotation that routinely reached the second level and broke off chunk plays. Maryland transfer redshirt senior Roman Hemby led the way with 23 attempts for 110 yards while redshirt senior Kaelon Black totaled 92 yards on 17 attempts. Even University of Alabama at Birmingham transfer redshirt junior Lee Beebe Jr. — who lost a fumble on his first carry — bounced back with 73 yards on 11 carries.
Altogether the Hoosiers combined for 309 yards on the ground, the most since their record-breaking 77-3 win over Western Illinois University last season. At points — especially throughout the first half — offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan was forced to rely solely on the run game to move the chains as Mendoza struggled to get on the same page with his receiving core.
“When you establish the run, then you can establish the pass,” Mendoza said. “Then you can get nifty and start being an explosive offense.”
As Mendoza correctly pointed out, the run game is the foundation for a dynamic offense. The production of Hemby, Black and Beebe allowed the former Golden Bear to make mistakes while he settled into his new team.
The same can be said about the Hoosiers’ defense.
Aside from Joseph’s pair of explosive runs, Indiana allowed just 161 total yards. Defensive coordinator Bryant Haines’ secondary recorded three interceptions, which factored into a lopsided time of possession difference favoring the Hoosiers.
“We had a missed assignment on the first play, the long touchdown run,” Cignetti said. “Then we collected ourselves on defense shortly thereafter and pretty much dominated them. Didn't give them anything.”
The domination Cignetti talked about provided Mendoza with numerous opportunities to showcase his talents, but the new Hoosier quarterback struggled to find a consistent air attack. Mendoza threw for 193 yards on 18 of 31 passing but had lapses in accuracy. Late in the second quarter he threw five straight incompletions.
Once again, Mendoza’s struggles aren’t cause for panic. Oftentimes quarterbacks struggle in week one matchups. The Heisman Trophy frontrunner University of Texas sophomore quarterback Arch Manning threw for just 38 yards over the first three quarters of a 14-7 loss to Ohio State, albeit against a superior Buckeye defense.
In 2024, Mendoza threw for just 158 yards in Cal’s opener against the University of California, Davis. Regardless, past underwhelming performances don’t excuse Saturday’s lackluster play from the highly regarded transfer.
“I need to be on better rhythm, better timing and better accuracy, especially on balls downfield,” Mendoza said. “I definitely left some things out there.”
The same goes for Indiana as a whole. While the good may outweigh the bad, it doesn’t excuse it. The Hoosiers have plenty of work to do over the next few weeks in order to prepare for their conference opener against No. 12 Illinois on Sept. 20.
Cignetti may have opened his postgame press conference with an acknowledgment that winning is hard, but he didn’t mince words about his true feelings on his team’s performance.
“I'm not pleased with the way we played,” Cignetti said. “I can't be any more clear than that.”
Quinn Richards covers Indiana football for the Indiana Daily Student. You can follow him @Quinn_richa on X and contact him via email at qmrichar@iu.edu
