Indiana football returned home Saturday for a matchup against Michigan State. Despite trailing at times in the first and second quarters, the Hoosiers separated themselves from the Spartans en route to a 38-13 victory inside Memorial Stadium in Bloomington.
With the win, the Hoosiers retained the Old Brass Spittoon.
The Spartans began the contest with the ball, driving 55 yards over 13 plays to notch a 38-yard field goal and take a 3-0 lead.
The Hoosiers responded with an 11-play touchdown drive as redshirt junior quarterback Fernando Mendoza found sixth-year senior receiver E.J. Williams Jr. for a 13-yard score to take a 7-3 advantage.
Michigan State orchestrated another lengthy drive — this time spanning nearly eight and a half minutes — to take a 10-7 lead. Indiana, again, responded. Mendoza hit senior receiver Elijah Sarratt for a 24-yard touchdown.
Indiana’s defense, which stifled then-No. 3 Oregon last week, recovered to hold Michigan State scoreless over its final two first-half possessions. The Hoosiers conversely scored touchdowns on all three of their drives, leading 21-10 at halftime.
However, with just six minutes until halftime was slated to end, a lightning delay halted the contest for 30 minutes.
When it resumed at 5:37 p.m., Indiana wasted no time scoring more points. Mendoza found Omar Cooper Jr. open on a post route, hitting the redshirt junior receiver for a 48-yard touchdown to lead 28-10.
The Spartans missed a 50-yard field goal on their ensuing possession. Mendoza made a perfectly placed pass to Sarratt, this time for a 27-yard touchdown which extended the Hoosiers' advantage to 25 points.
After Indiana stopped Michigan State on third down with just over nine minutes left in the contest, Hoosiers senior defensive lineman Kellan Wyatt suffered an apparent lower-body injury. He walked off the field under his own power with a limp.
Both the Hoosiers and the Spartans tacked on field goals late in the fourth quarter, as the former secured the victory.
Mendoza went 24 for 28 for 332 yards and four touchdowns in the contest. Cooper led the Hoosiers’ receiving corps with eight receptions for 115 yards and a score.
Indiana now sits 7-0 ahead of an Oct. 25 matchup with UCLA in Bloomington.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and columnist Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa and qmrichar@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
