Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza shook off a fourth-quarter interception and led his third game-winning drive of the season to cap a nail-biting 27-24 win over Penn State and cement the Hoosiers’ second 10-0 start in as many seasons under head coach Curt Cignetti.
Nearly hitting his head on the crossbar, wide receiver Omar Cooper made an acrobatic, toe-tap catch in the back of the end zone to give Indiana the lead with 35 seconds remaining, and Penn State quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer’s Hail Mary pass fell incomplete as time expired.
No. 2 Indiana (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten) answered the bell yet again, facing adversity on the road but emerging with a hard-fought win. It led 20-7 early in the third quarter after converting a Grunkemeyer interception into a field goal, but Mendoza and Co. fell flat while Penn State’s offense found rhythm and brought the 105,000-person Beaver Stadium crowd back into the game.
The Nittany Lions (3-6, 0-6 Big Ten) scored 10 points on their next two drives, bookending an Indiana punt with a field goal and a Nicholas Singleton touchdown rush, the latter of which cut Indiana’s lead to three points.
After starting Big Ten play 0-5, Penn State was as downtrodden as any team in the FBS. The Nittany Lions entered Saturday’s game winless against top-five opponents since knocking off No. 2 Ohio State in 2016, but it looked like their woes would come to an end after safety King Mack intercepted Mendoza with 10:47 left in the fourth quarter, setting Penn State up at Indiana’s 44-yard line, trailing 20-17.
Singleton, who finished the game with 115 total yards and three touchdowns, caught a short pass from Grunkemeyer and ran 19 yards to the end zone to give Penn State a 24-20 lead with 6:27 left. Penn State then forced Indiana to punt after a sack and a delay of game, and the Nittany Lions had a chance to run out the clock. The Indiana defense held strong as it has so many times in 2025, leading to a Penn State punt as Cignetti used his team’s timeouts during the defensive stand to give Mendoza as much time as possible to come through when it mattered most.
Backed up to his own 20-yard line with 1:51 left, the Heisman hopeful took over. The drive got off to a rocky start as Zane Durant brought Mendoza down in the backfield for Penn State’s third sack of the game, but he responded with a 22-yard strike to Cooper to move Indiana close to midfield.
After a quick out to E.J. Williams got Indiana into plus territory, Mendoza delivered a 29-yard strike to tight end Riley Nowakowski, showing that despite the interception and three-and-out on the two previous drives, he was as poised as ever.
Filling in for injured wide receiver Elijah Sarratt, Charlie Becker capped a seven-catch, 118-yard performance with a leaping grab near the sideline to set the Hoosiers up with first and goal at the seven-yard line.
Mendoza and Cooper did the rest.
“Refuse to lose,” Cignetti said to Fox’s Jenny Taft postgame. “This was an unbelievable win. I’ve seen a lot of stuff in my days, but I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Mendoza noted how Indiana kept the faith despite its late hiccups.
“That’s on me,” Mendoza said of his interception. “The team still had belief. It all came around (in) the end. We were able to rally and get the win in a hostile environment against a great team.”
Indiana was 2-25 all-time against Penn State and 0-13 in Happy Valley before Saturday’s win. Only Wisconsin (2-6, 0-5 Big Ten) and Purdue (2-8, 0-7 Big Ten) stand between the Hoosiers and their first undefeated regular season in program history.
Indiana hosts the Badgers at Memorial Stadium on Nov. 15. Kickoff is set for noon on Big Ten Network, the IU Sports Radio Network and WIUX Sports, the latter of which will feature Nick Rodecap and Luke Brennaman on the call.
