The Indiana Hoosiers entered Saturday’s contest at Kinnick Stadium on a roll and fresh off of scoring 63 points against a top ten opponent. Things don’t tend to go smoothly when you play the Iowa Hawkeyes on the road and Curt Cignetti said all week that he knew this week’s test would be tougher than the blowout over Illinois. The game script played out nearly perfectly for Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa Hawkeyes but a missed field goal by the home team opened the door for Fernando Mendoza and then Elijah Sarratt broke the door down, scoring a late touchdown to break a 13-13 tie and giving IU the victory and a 5-0 start.
The Iowa Hawkeyes had the ball first and on the second play from scrimmage, Isiah Jones tipped a pass by Mark Gronowski and Amare Ferrell grabbed it before it hit the ground, giving Indiana possession at the Iowa 27-yard line. It took the Hoosiers only two plays to score as Omar Cooper caught a pass from Fernando Mendoza for a 14-yard touchdown to make it 7-0 in favor of the road team. Iowa picked up one first down but the Hawkeyes were forced to punt and IU had the ball at the 15-yard line and the offense got their first taste of real resistance as Iowa’s defense dug in and made life difficult. A third down sack forced a punt for the Hoosiers and a nice return by the Hawkeyes set them up at the Indiana 45-yard line. The Hawkeyes picked up one first down and then settled for a long field goal to make the score 7-3.
Indiana’s offense picked up one first down but had to punt and the Hawkeyes followed suit after burning through the rest of the first quarter clock. The Hoosiers were pinned at the three-yard line but Fernando Mendoza connected with E.J. Williams to move the ball past midfield. IU faced a third and short and were stuffed and followed that up with another run up the middle and were stuffed short again, turning the ball over on downs. The Hawkeyes took over and converted multiple third downs as they drove the field and scored on a Mark Gronowski quarterback keeper to take the lead at 10-7 with just 22 seconds remaining in the first half. IU responded with a first down by Roman Hemby and then a quick pass to Elijah Sarratt plus a roughing the passer on Iowa moved the Hoosiers into field goal position and Nico Radicic connected from 46 yards away to tie the game at 10 at the half. The Iowa Hawkeyes had the ball for more than 18 minutes of the first half and Indiana’s offense was kept from getting into rhythm.
The Hoosiers began the second half with the ball and they picked up a pair of first downs before having to punt again. Iowa got a first down as Mark Gronowski continued to play well but they had to punt and Isiah Jones broke through and tipped the ball as it left the punter’s foot. Still, the Hawkeyes got a fortunate bounce and the ball rolled 29 yards. Indiana failed to take advantage of the good field position and went three and out. The teams traded possession before Indiana moved near midfield but were stuffed on fourth and short yet again. Iowa took advantage of the good field position and nailed a 54-yard field goal to take the 13-10 lead. Indiana’s attack finally found a bit of life as Fernando Mendoza connected with Elijah Sarratt for a big gain but a third and short pass fell incomplete and IU called on Nico Radicic to tie the game from 44 yards out. The kicker came up clutch, drilling the kick and leveling the score at 13 with 9:47 remaining. Iowa’s Mark Gronowski was injured and force to leave the game and backup Hank Brown was pressured on third down and overthrew his receiver. IU safety Louis Moore snagged the errant ball and IU had the ball back at the 23-yard line with 6:27 remaining. Roman Hemby got eight yards on two carries and then Elijah Sarratt made a huge catch and run to pick up the first down and get IU across midfield. A holding penalty moved the Hoosiers back for a second and 20 and then Fernando Mendoza was intercepted on third and long. Iowa returned the pick to the IU 29-yard line and Indiana’s back was firmly against the wall. The Hawkeyes lined up for a 42-yard field goal but one of the best kickers in the nation shanked it to the left and the game was still tied with 2:01 remaining.
Elijah Sarratt caught a back-shoulder throw and advanced past midfield on the second play of the possession but the Hoosiers then faced a third and ten. Fernando Mendoza threaded a perfect slant pass to Elijah Sarratt and the man known as Waffle House broke tackle and sprinted to the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown with 1:28 remaining.
Hank Brown continued as the Iowa quarterback and Brown completed two passes to pick up a first down and get the drive going. He then moved the ball across midfield with a nice pass for a second first down but the clock had dwindled to only 31 seconds remaining. Isiah Jones almost had an interception but the pass was ruled incomplete and the Hawkeyes faced third and ten with 24 seconds remaining. The third down pass fell incomplete and Indiana’s defense clinched the game as Brown threw his fourth straight incompletion. The final four plays were a bit of a farce as the officials called plays dead before anyone had touched Fernando Mendoza and before he had taken a knee. Eventually, Mendoza ran the clock out by sprinting into the end zone and accepting a safety with no time remaining to finish the contest at 20-15.
Fernando Mendoza was 13-23 for 233 yards and two touchdowns plus his first interception of the season. His main target was Elijah Sarratt as the veteran exploded for 132 yards and the decisive touchdown. IU’s rushing numbers were skewed by the final negative play but Roman Hemby had 86 yards on 15 carries to pace the team on the ground. Indiana ultimately outgained Iowa comfortably and shrank the time of possession advantage to just a bit over five minutes. The Hoosiers are 5-0 for the second straight season, the first time that has been accomplished in school history. They now get a well-earned bye week before traveling to Eugene to play the Oregon Ducks.