In just two seasons under Curt Cignetti, the Hoosiers have gone from Big Ten bottom dwellers to one of the top teams in the country.
And if there was ever any doubt, No.2 Indiana erased it Saturday when the Hoosiers took down No. 1 Ohio State, 13-10, to capture their first Big Ten Championship since 1967.
“I’m proud of them. I’m proud of them and the coaches,” Cignetti said after the game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. “I liked our preparation coming into this game. I liked our mindset. … We hadn’t been here before, but we’d been in a situation before against Oregon and prevailed.”
On their first drive of the game, Heisman-hopeful quarterback Fernando Mendoza took a hit as he threw the ball that sucked the air out of the stadium immediately. Luckily it was a fluke, and while the drive stalled out after Mendoza returned, they held the Buckeyes scoreless on their opening drive.
The Hoosiers struck first when Nico Radicic notched a 29-yard field goal to go up. 3-0.
Not to be outdone, Ohio State’s own Heisman-hopeful Julian Saying connected with wide receiver Carnell Tate for a 9-yard score with just 46 seconds left in the first quarter. The Buckeyes added a 30-yard field goal with 10:08 in the half.
Down 10-3, Radicic made it a 4-point game with a 32-yard field goal with 2:47 remaining. He had missed one earlier in the second quarter.
“I kind of gathered them right at the beginning of the end of the half, which I usually don’t do, and very calmly said, this is what we talked about, this is the kind of game we expected,” said CIgnetti. “They’re going to make plays; we’re going to make plays. … And so finally, I gathered the team 20 minutes later, before we went out, it was more like, okay, do we have what it takes to win a gut-check, physical game like this? This is going to be a test of our toughness and our persistence. And we proved that we did.”
Indiana put it together out of the break, as the Hoosiers went on a seven play, 88-yard drive that ended with Mendoza connecting with Elijah Sarratt on a 17 yard touchdown to go up, 13-10 after the extra point.
Mendoza finished the game 15-for-23 for 222 yards and the score.
Ohio State had a chance to tie things up with 2:48 remaining but kicker Jayden Fielding missed a 27-yard attempt, giving the Hoosiers the ball and a chance to seal it. The Buckeyes had one more drive left in the final minute, but failed to overcome the Hoosier defense.
After holding on for the win, Cignetti said he had yet to relish the moment.
“I think I’m going to have my moment when we finish this press conference.”
