Indiana football’s offense — led by redshirt junior quarterback Fernando Mendoza — earned a program-defining victory over then-No. 1 Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship game Saturday. And it did so without one of its top pass catchers: Omar Cooper Jr.
The redshirt junior receiver exited the contest early in the first quarter. Mendoza targeted Cooper downfield and, after he couldn’t come down with the catch, he hobbled to the sideline with an apparent right leg injury.
Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti said the Hoosiers will “know a little bit more” on Cooper’s injury as they go throughout their 25-day preparation for the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 against either the No. 9 University of Alabama or No. 8 University of Oklahoma.
“We don't expect it to be anything,” Cignetti said.
Cooper has caught 58 passes this season for 804 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was named one of 13 Biletnikoff Award semifinalists in mid-November alongside senior receiver Elijah Sarratt. After Cooper went down against the Buckeyes, Charlie Becker stepped up just as he did in the stretch run of the regular season.
Becker, a sophomore receiver, notched six receptions for 126 yards against Ohio State, including the game-sealing 33-yard catch with just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Although Cooper was the lone Hoosier to exit the contest and not return due to injury, other players did suffer ailments throughout the game.
Mendoza missed one play on Indiana’s opening drive after Ohio State senior defensive end Caden Curry delivered a punishing hit. Mendoza reiterated postgame — after cementing his Heisman Trophy candidacy — that he would “die for my brothers” on the field.
Sixth-year senior safety Louis Moore was evaluated in the locker room for an undisclosed injury in the second quarter before returning after the two-minute timeout. Sixth-year senior defensive lineman Mikail Kamara suffered an apparent right leg injury in the third quarter but made his way back to the field on the Buckeyes’ ensuing possession.
Despite the bumps and bruises throughout the game, the Hoosiers don’t anticipate any lasting impacts ahead of Indiana’s first Rose Bowl appearance since 1967.
“We don't think there was anything that happened in the game that will affect our next game,” Cignetti said.
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.
