INDIANAPOLIS – Blissfully ignorant Indiana fans roar as Elijah Sarratt hauls in a 9-yard pass on the first play of the Big Ten Championship Game. Sarratt pops up from the ground and tosses the ball to the official. White Indiana rally towels wave in the north endzone of Lucas Oil Stadium. The first drive of the most anticipated game of the college football season is underway.
The roar fades to silence as fans shift their gaze from the 34-yard line back to the 18.
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza lies face-down on the turf. He holds his head in his hands and kicks his legs up and down, battling through pain. Blissful ignorance turns into dreadful awareness.
Hoosier fans across the nation put their hands on their head in disbelief. Indiana has come this far. Is this really happening?
Fifty-nine minutes and eight seconds of game time later, red and white confetti shot out into the air as Indiana raised the Big Ten Championship Game trophy. Mendoza held the MVP trophy and grinned ear to ear. Players led their faithful fans in the singing of “Indiana Our Indiana”.
Hoosier fans across the nation put their hands on their head in disbelief. Indiana has come this far. Is this really happening?
Yes it is.
As No. 2 Indiana took down No. 1 Ohio State 13-10 on Saturday to win its first Big Ten Championship Game, the college football world was shocked. Indiana was not.
“It was another step we needed to take as a program,” Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti said. “It's a great win obviously, and we're going to go into the playoffs as the No. 1 seed. A lot of people probably thought that wasn't possible.”
The arguments that claim Indiana has not played anyone are no longer valid. The claims that Indiana cannot win big games are just as weak. Indiana is the team to beat in college football. It’s a feat that no team this season has been able to accomplish.
Ohio State came into this game as the undisputed No. 1 team in the nation. Now, the title belongs to Indiana. Ohio State held the nation’s longest winning streak. Now, Indiana’s streak takes the lead. Ohio State had not trailed in the second half all year. Indiana changed that. Ohio State had not been shut out in a half all season. Indiana changed that too. Ohio State played in the Rose Bowl last year. Indiana will do the same in three weeks.
A changing of the guard.
“I think this was the final nail in the coffin for any of the Indiana doubters, the Curt Cignetti doubters, the Hoosier doubters,” Indiana linebacker Isaiah Jones said. “This was the last thing that needed to be proved and I think we did it.”
It took Cignetti 736 days to make the losingest FBS program of all time a Big Ten title game champion and the top seed in the College Football Playoff. Both are program firsts. He is 24-2 in his Indiana tenure with the Hoosiers and 18-1 in the Big Ten and led Indiana to a spot in the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1967. A previously dormant program continues to erupt with no end in sight.
Indiana is also in line to win its first Heisman Trophy. Mendoza and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin were the two front runners coming into the contest. Mendoza finished 15-for-23 for 222 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Sayin was 21-for-29 for 258 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Mendoza delivered in the biggest moments. His game-sealing 33 yard pass on 3rd-and-6 to Charlie Becker with two minutes to go closed the books in the eyes of oddsmakers. Mendoza’s night started on the ground with the wind knocked out of him. It ended on the stage as a Big Ten champion and the clear-cut Heisman favorite.
“No knockout hit or knockout punch could take me out of that game,” Mendoza said. “Because you know, it's one thing about the Indiana Hoosiers football team is whenever they hit, we hit back harder.”
This has been the case all year. Old Dominion ran for a 75-yard touchdown against Indiana on the first play from scrimmage this season. Indiana has won 13 straight games since. Oregon secured a pick-six to tie the game in the fourth quarter against Indiana. The Hoosiers shut the Ducks down the rest of the game and won. Penn State got a sack on the first play of Indiana’s two-minute drive to win. The Hoosiers then moved flawlessly down the field to win. Ohio State knocked Mendoza out for a play and led at the half. Indiana shut out the Buckeyes in the second half and won the Big Ten.
It will take more than a good punch to knock Indiana out. Thirteen teams have tried and failed, with Ohio State being the latest victim. The next challenger is the winner of No. 8 Oklahoma and No. 9 Alabama, who Indiana will face in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.
Throw your best punch. Brace yourself for the punch that comes back at you.
