IU basks in glow of Big Ten title, CFP's top seed

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana assistant coach Ola Adams put his hands on his head in disbelief as confetti fell and the crowd roared at Lucas Oil Stadium.

But the scene unfolding before Adams was very believable. Since the moment coach Curt Cignetti swaggered onto campus exactly two years earlier, and outlined a success plan for the losingest program in college football, Indiana has been climbing.

On a magical night 50 miles from their home stadium, the Hoosiers reached the top, outlasting Ohio State 13-10 in a Big Ten championship game that matched the nation’s top two teams, both undefeated. Indiana beat No. 1 to become No. 1.

“We’re going to go in the playoffs as the No. 1 seed,” Cignetti said. “A lot of people probably thought that wasn’t possible.”

The milestones achieved are seemingly endless. The Hoosiers won their first Big Ten championship since 1967 and their first outright title since 1945. They beat Ohio State for the first time since 1988, ending a 32-game losing streak. And quarterback Fernando Mendoza likely clinched the school’s first Heisman Trophy with several heroic throws, rallying his team from a 10-3 deficit.

“It shows everybody: Why not? Why would you not want to come to Indiana?” linebacker Isaiah Jones said. “For any of the doubters out there, this kind of was the final nail in the coffin for any of the Indiana doubters, the Curt Cignetti doubters, the Hoosier doubters.

“This was the last thing that needed to be proved, and we did it.”

Indiana beat a top-ranked team for the first time in 17 tries, holding Ohio State scoreless for the final 40:08 and twice turning away the Buckeyes inside the 10-yard line.

“As a basketball manager, Keith Smart’s shot, that won the national championship [in 1987],” Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson, who worked under coach Bob Knight for that title team, told ESPN. “This is right up there with that. This is a big moment.”

Cignetti guided Indiana to a team-record 11 wins in his debut season, but when the team faced Ohio State, the eventual national champion, and Notre Dame, the eventual runner-up, its deficiencies were exposed in double-digit losses. Although Indiana faced a tougher regular-season schedule this fall, recorded a signature road win against Oregon and had shown clear improvement in several areas, it still entered Saturday’s game as a touchdown underdog.

But the Hoosiers (13-0) were better at the line of scrimmage, recording five sacks against an Ohio State team (12-1) that had allowed just six the entire regular season. Facing Heisman Trophy contenders in quarterback Julian Sayin and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, Indiana’s defense never yielded, making several memorable plays, including linebacker Rolijah Hardy‘s end zone pass deflection to prevent the go-ahead touchdown with 2:51 to play.

“We envisioned it,” defensive lineman Tyrique Tucker said. “We felt like we needed to handle business, especially due to last year. We felt like we had to finish some things and we had some unfinished business.”

Cignetti and his players thought that if they could keep the game close late, they would have an edge. Indiana rallied late to beat Iowa and Penn State, and pulled away from Oregon with the score tied early in the fourth quarter. Ohio State, meanwhile, had not faced a second-half deficit this season until Mendoza found Elijah Sarratt for a 17-yard score with 8:02 to play.

“That’s what we dwell on, like, we come out and we take on a challenge,” said cornerback D’Angelo Ponds, who was matched up against Smith in man coverage throughout the game. “They haven’t been challenged all year. … We challenged them.”

Mendoza’s night began with a massive hit by Ohio State’s Caden Curry that left him writhing on the turf and forced him to miss a play. He also threw an interception that led to Ohio State’s only touchdown. But Mendoza steadied himself, even without top wideout Omar Cooper Jr., and found Charlie Becker for completions of 51 and 33 yards, the latter on third-and-6 in the final minutes.

Indiana fans gathered in the north end of the stadium chanted “Heis-Mendoza!” as Mendoza received game MVP honors.

“I don’t want to go in deep depth in with the Heisman, but I remember Coach Cignetti brought me in, I think it was after UCLA, and he told me, ‘Hey, the Heisman’s a team game, it’s a team award. It’s not a player award. And if you win, then you can get nominated for it,'” Mendoza said. “Hopefully, I would love the opportunity to get the invite to New York, which would be fantastic.”

The Heisman ceremony awaits Mendoza next week, and Indiana will prepare for its first trip to the Rose Bowl since the 1967 season. But no one associated with the program will forget what happened Saturday night, just a few dozen miles from campus.

“It was just a dream come true,” Ponds said. “It actually didn’t feel real. We believed in ourselves and we went out there and executed. It all just came together.”