In October 2022, Indiana football became the first Division I program to reach 700 losses. Almost all the Hoosiers could do was lose.
Blowout defeats? Yep. Close losses where the Hoosiers led for chunks of the game? Indeed. Games where Indiana should’ve won but miraculously found a new way to lose? You bet.
But since head coach Curt Cignetti took over the reins in December 2023, he’s guided the program to new heights — winning ones. Entering Beaver Stadium on Saturday to face Penn State, the Hoosiers were seeking their first win in the famed stadium.
Indiana also put an unblemished 9-0 record on the line. The Cream and Crimson blew out two of three nonconference opponents, destroyed four Big Ten sides and emerged from two raucous road environments with unforgettable wins via game-winning touchdown drives.
Still, Indiana was in a familiar spot. The Hoosiers were either ahead of or tied with the Nittany Lions until there were six and a half minutes left in the game. This time, they didn’t revert to the program’s past. Instead, Indiana refused to lose and exited with a 27-24 victory over Penn State on Saturday in University Park, Pennsylvania.
“Super proud of our team and our players,” Cignetti said postgame. “Refused to lose in the bleakest, most dire moments when it looks impossible... But it was the most improbable victory I've ever been a part of.”
After a lackluster start for both sides, Charlie Becker announced his arrival late in the first quarter. With receiver Elijah Sarratt sidelined with a hamstring injury, the sophomore wideout beat his defender on an inside post for a 53-yard gain.
“Charlie Becker caught the post early in the game, too, because this is a team that will double-cover new receivers once in a while,” Cignetti said. “And they were going one-on-one on Becker. And Charlie made some fantastic plays.”
Two plays later, redshirt junior quarterback Fernando Mendoza scampered 18 yards into the end zone. The Hoosiers struck first, but the Nittany Lions responded with their own touchdown.
Indiana went on a 15-play, 65-yard drive, but fell short in reaching the end zone. It settled for a field goal to reclaim a 3-point lead. With just under two and a half minutes left in the half, Indiana seemed likely to take that lead into the locker room.
However, redshirt junior defensive back Jamari Sharpe forced a fumble to give the Hoosiers the ball in plus territory. They took advantage. Sixth-year senior running back Kaelon Black found his way through the trenches and into the end zone.
After a rather uninspiring half of football, Indiana led by 10 points at the break.
And while Penn State began the second half with the ball, redshirt freshman quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer tossed his first interception of the game. Sharpe deflected the pass and senior linebacker Aiden Fisher plucked it out of the air.
Again, the Hoosiers couldn’t find the end zone and settled for a field goal. A 20-7 lead appeared comfortable — Penn State couldn’t get its offense going while the Hoosiers continued scoring points.
But that’s when it all changed. The Nittany Lions first notched a field goal. Seven minutes later, they followed with back-to-back touchdown drives to take a 4-point lead.
“Things started to go against us a little bit,” Cignetti said. “And the only thing I said to a lot of the guys was, ‘We're going to find out what we're made of.’”
Indiana was then faced with either marching down the field to notch its own touchdown or return to Bloomington with its first loss of the season.
Mendoza had been hit time and time again throughout the game. Indiana’s offensive line struggled to protect the signal caller. He took hit after hit. And even more. Still, he remained steadfast in delivering.
“I know that I'm going to put my life on the line for that team, and I'm going to die on that field,” Mendoza said postgame. “I would never sub myself out in that instance, and I would die on that field for my brothers.”
And although he tossed an interception earlier in the fourth quarter, Mendoza led perhaps one of the most improbable Indiana’s drives in recent memory. The Miami native found four different receivers for substantial gains to get the Hoosiers inside the red zone in the final minute.
Then, Cooper did the rest.
Mendoza hit the Indianapolis native in the back of the end zone. Cooper made one of, if not, the most impressive acrobatic catches of the season, getting his left toes in bounds to score his first touchdown of the game.
Although Mendoza aims to prevent the so-called “noise and clutter” from entering his head amid the Heisman Trophy race, his teammates took notice.
“Anybody looking for a Heisman moment, there it is,” Fisher said. “That dude earned it. He’s the best player in the country and he showed it today.”
Indiana was once a program that would’ve succumbed to opponents in crunch time. Once a program that didn’t rise to the occasion.
Now, it does more than others.
Like he did against Iowa on Sept. 27 and then-No. 3 Oregon on Oct. 11, Mendoza threw an interception in the fourth quarter. The Hoosiers’ opponent had all the momentum in all three instances.
However, the Cream and Crimson found ways to bounce back and win. No longer the losingest program after Northwestern’s loss Friday, Indiana is still remembered as a historically abysmal program. Eventually, it’ll return to form — right?
Not Saturday. The Hoosiers continue to find ways to emerge victorious in games they never used to.
“You just talk about resiliency, always coming up in the clutch and refusing to lose,” Fisher said. “When it comes down, game on the line, it’s time to make money; this team refusing to lose. I think that’s the best quality you can have as a team.”
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.
