Omar, Omar, OH, MY

   Indiana is now 10-0 for the second straight year and the only two times in program history that Indiana has won 10 or more games in a season. The Hoosiers are 7-0 in the Big Ten for the second year in a row and will host Wisconsin Next Saturday at Noon in the home regular season finale before traveling to Purdue in the season finale on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

   Fernando Mendoza finished 19-30 for 218 yards passing 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Mendoza threw the game winning touchdown pass with 36 seconds left when he found Omar Cooper Jr who made a magical catch in the back of the endzone keeping his foot in bounds to give the Hoosiers the lead and the win. Cooper Jr finished with 6 catches for 32 yards as the Hoosiers were without Elijah Sarratt due to a hamstring injury. Charlie Becker, who replaced Sarratt, had 7 catches for 118 yards.

   Kaelon Black and Mendoza each had a rushing touchdown as the Hoosiers finished with 108 yards rushing with 4 different ball carriers. Nico Radicic kicked two field goals as the Hoosiers are 21-2 under Curt Cignetti and this is the closet margin of victory the Hoosiers have had since Cignetti arrived in Bloomington with Indiana beating Michigan in 2024 and Iowa this season both by five points as the Hoosiers are 15-1 in the Big Ten.

  Ethan Grunkemeyer finished 22-31 for 219 yards passing with a touchdown and a interception. Nicholas Singleton had 10 carries for 71 yards and 2 touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass with 3 receptions for 22 yards. Penn State outgained Indiana 336-326 as Penn State finished with 219 passing yards to 218 for Indiana and the Nittany Lions had 117 rushing yards to 108 Yards for the Hoosiers.

  The game was scoreless until 1:18 left in the first quarter when Mendoza took off and ran 18 yards for the touchdown to give Indiana the 7-0 lead. Penn State responded with a 2-yard touchdown run from Singelton to tie the game 7-7 with 11:08 left in the second quarter. Nico Radicic hit a 28-yard field goal as the Hoosiers led 10-7 with 2:30 left in the second quarter as Kaelon Black scored on a one-yard run with 38 seconds left as the Hoosiers went to the locker room leading 17-7.

  In the third quarter Grunkemeyer was picked off by Aiden Fisher as the Hoosiers were able to capitalize as Nico Radicic hit a 31-yard field goal with 8:46 left in the third quarter to make it 20-7. Penn State started the comeback when Ryan Barker hit a 36-yard field goal with 3:36 left in the third quarter to make it 20-10 Indiana. Penn State scored two Nicholas Singleton touchdowns with a 1-yard touchdown run with 11:36 left in the fourth quarter. Grunkemeyer threw a 19-yard pass to Singelton with 6:27 left in the fourth quarter to give the Nittany Lions a 24-20 lead with 6:27 left in the game.

  Mendoza was picked off by King Mack in the fourth quarter, but the Hoosiers were able to drive the ball with 1:51 left running 10 plays for 80 yards in 1:15 as Mendoza made the clutch pass and Cooper Jr made the clutch catch as the Hoosiers are still unbeaten and continue to make history.

   Indiana has two more regular season games left and are still in the driver’s seat for the Big Ten Championship. Penn State is 3-6 and 0-6 in the Big Ten but show a lot of poise and fight under interim head coach Terry Smith. Every team goes through adversity and no question both these teams have had their share of it. At the end of the game Indiana overcame adversity and refused to lose keeping the eyes on the prize.