IOWA CITY, Iowa — Indiana football stunned the sold-out crowd at Kinnick Stadium by scoring the go-ahead touchdown Saturday on a 49-yard touchdown from Fernando Mendoza to Elijah Sarratt with 1:35 to go.
The No. 12 Hoosiers won a 20-15 dog fight against a stingy Iowa defense that grounded their high-powered offense. The long catch-and-run came after the Hawkeyes missed a 42-yard field goal that would have given them the lead with in the final minutes.
Sarratt’s game-winner came at the end of a wild fourth quarter that started with the Big Ten rivals exchanging long field goals. Iowa kicker Drew Stevens hit a 54-yarder only and Nicolas Radicic tied the game, 13-13, with a 44-yarder of his own.
Starting quarterback Mark Gronowski exited the game with a leg injury and his replacement, Hank Brown, threw an interception to IU safety Louis Moore. Mendoza gave it right back on the ensuing possession with his first interception of the season when he sailed a pass attempt to Omar Cooper Jr. with the Hoosiers (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) looking for the go-ahead score.
Iowa (3-2, 1-1) returned the ball 38 yards on the interception to get into field-goal range, only for Stevens to miss.
Here’s what we learned from IU’s win.
Indiana football QB Fernando Mendoza salvages the win after rough outing
Mendoza, who won seven weekly awards last week for his performance against Illinois, became one of the betting favorites to win the Heisman and was talked up as a potential No. 1 NFL draft pick.
His latest performance likely won’t get as much buzz.
Indiana had pass protection issues, but Mendoza didn’t look comfortable even when he had a clean pocket. In the second half, he made plays with his legs by just pulling the ball down and scrambling for long gains.
Mendoza looked out of sync as he underthrew Cooper on a would-be touchdown in the second quarter and tossed a pass behind Sarratt that would have moved the chains at midfield with the game tied in the third.
Those were automatic completions for Mendoza in recent weeks, but he did deliver some tough throws down the stretch in the face of pressure up the middle. He finished the game 13 of 23 for 233 yards with two scores and one interception.
Indiana football’s failed fourth-down conversations loom large
No one can say Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti coached scared.
He kept his offense on the field with Indiana facing a fourth and one at its own 47-yard line to start the fourth quarter. Cignetti made a similar decision near the end of the first half with IU facing a fourth and one at Iowa’s 26-yard line.
Indiana couldn’t get any push up front on either attempt — Kaelon Black was stuffed for a loss of one yard both times.
The Hoosiers came into the game having rushed for 300-plus yards in four straight games for the first time in program history, but they struggled to do much of anything against the Hawkeyes — they averaged just 4.3 yards per carry— and the offense struggled to adjust.
Iowa converted a fourth-down attempt of its own on a scoring drive at the end of the first-half with a quarterback sneak from Gronowski.
Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti gets fired up at officials
Cignetti voiced his displeasure at the officials multiple times in the first half and even drew a rare sideline warning.
His initial frustration came from IU getting called with a delay of game as it started a possession coming out of a kickoff. Cignetti gestured as if the officials didn’t reset the play clock properly and ran across the sideline to get their attention.
Early in the second quarter, Cignetti was upset when the crew didn’t stop to review Iowa receiver Dayton Howard’s 10-yard gain at the sideline that he appeared not to have possession as he went out of bounds.
He got hit with the sideline warning for running out on the field after TJ Hall broke up a pass intended for Cooper on an underthrown ball in the end zone. There was clear contact between the two as Cooper came back to make the catch.
Cignetti just threw up his hands in disgust when the officials huddled to discuss a potential late hit on Mendoza in the third quarter.
Indiana football’s perfect start against Iowa goes to waste
Indiana had a chance to quiet the crowd early with an interception on the second snap of the game. Amare Ferrell came up with the pick after Isaiah Jones tipped Gronowski’s first pass attempt on a blitz off the edge.
Mendoza tossed a 14-yard touchdown to Cooper to give IU a 7-0 lead while fans were still filling into Kinnick Stadium.
It was the quickest touchdown scored during Cignetti’s tenure, but the momentum was short-lived.
Indiana’s offense didn’t put any more points on the board until the end of the half. It managed to get into field goal range on a possession that started with 17 seconds on the clock, but Iowa gifted them extra yardage with a roughing the passer penalty.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana football win at Iowa, things we learned
