Indiana football’s historic season was full of memorable moments.
The Hoosiers captured their first-ever national championship and became the first team since the 1890s to finish 16-0. The Daily Hoosier has compiled our list of the top 10 plays and moments from IU’s march to the title. If you missed any previous posts in this series, check them out at the links below.
No. 10: Special teams sends Memorial Stadium into pandemonium against Illinois
No. 9: Indiana doesn’t budge at the Rose Bowl
No. 8: Mikail Kamara steps up in the National Championship Game
No. 7: “CHARLIE B.! FROM NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE!”
No. 6: A moment of magic at Iowa
No. 5: A mighty response at Oregon
Indiana football spent this entire season proving its doubters wrong. The Hoosiers may have done that more at Oregon in week 7 than they did in any other game this season.
And it took some clutch gene to accomplish that.
Early in the fourth quarter, Fernando Mendoza made a critical mistake — just as he did in IU’s previous game at Iowa. He left a third-and-2 throw to E.J. Williams Jr. short, and Oregon defensive back Brandon Finney Jr. undercut the route, intercepted the pass, and returned it 35 yards for a game-tying touchdown. Plenty of time remained, and Indiana had played well enough up to that point to seem capable of bouncing back. But the pick six is the sort of moment that can completely change a game and flip momentum — that could’ve easily deflated IU going forward.
But the Hoosiers didn’t let that happen.
“After I threw the pick six, (Aiden Fisher) came up to me and said, ‘Hey brother, I have your back. I believe in you,'” Mendoza said after the game. “And to have a team captain say that and come up to me and say that, it inspires confidence, in not just me, but the entire offense.”
Mendoza came back out after the interception even more locked in. Indiana’s entire offense joined him. Behind his dominant offensive line, Mendoza led the Hoosiers down the field methodically on a 12-play drive, their third-longest of the season to that point.
And on third-and-goal from the Oregon 8-yard line, IU’s quarterback connected with Elijah Sarratt on a back-shoulder route — the sort of play the receiver had become so reliable at making — for a go-ahead touchdown. It was a perfect response in a moment when Curt Cignetti’s team needed to come up with the goods.
“When you have adversity in games like this, a lot of teams kind of handle that differently,” Fisher said. “We embrace it. We love it. We’re going to take it head on, we’re going to go at it as a unit, all together.”
The video below will take you to the start of IU’s drive that finished with the go-ahead touchdown.
That touchdown didn’t put the game away, by any means. Indiana’s defense handled that part.
Fisher and Mario Landino combined for a sack on Oregon’s first play from scrimmage after the score. On the next, Louis Moore picked off Dante Moore to put IU in the driver’s seat. The Hoosiers salted the game away with a field goal, and then another interception by Isaiah Jones.
This game was when Indiana launched itself into the Big Ten title race, and announced itself as a legitimate national championship contender.
Column: After knocking off Oregon, anything is possible for Indiana football
That all stemmed from the mettle Mendoza and IU’s offense showed on their touchdown drive after the pick six.
For complete coverage of IU football, GO HERE.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- Find us on Instagram, X, and Facebook
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
