The No. 2 Indiana Hoosiers (10-0,7-0) had a win for the ages as an improbable final drive was capped with the catch of the year so far by Omar Cooper. The Hoosiers won for the first time at Penn State and won a game that looked like they let slip through their fingers. Here’s the stock report for IU after week 11.
Stock Up
Refuse to Lose
Curt Cignetti said it best to Fox’s Jenny Taft after the game. “We refused to lose”. That’s exactly what IU did in a game that frankly IU let slip away, but won in dramatic fashion. The Hoosiers were two touchdown favorites and had control of the game up 20-7 with the ball in the second half. IU did let Penn State off the hook when they failed to score a touchdown after an Aiden Fisher interception on the second play of the third quarter. However, this may have been the wake up call IU needed to refocus for a playoff run.
Penn State still had a more talented team on paper, they were playing at home and they gave the 90,000-plus fans at Beaver Stadium a reason to get loud. With their backs against the wall and facing a 2nd and 17 after a sack, Fernando Mendoza and the offense went 87 yards for the game-winning touchdown.
Charlie Becker
If people did not know who Charlie Becker was at 11:59am on Saturday, they know now. Becker, a true sophomore, started in place of injured All-American receiver Elijah Sarratt and made big play after big play for the Hoosiers. Becker finished with seven catches for 118 yards and while he did not reach the end zone, he did make a couple highlight reels.
Becker showed off his speed on a 52-yard catch and run on a deep post. He showed off his hands making several catches on throws that were behind him. He also showed off some acrobatics as he went up and got two huge passes in the second half, saving his best for the final drive.
Fernando Mendoza’s Heisman Campaign
Fernando Mendoza’s Heisman campaign was called dead by an IU basketball podcaster and self-proclaimed bracket expert. By the end of the game, the race for the Heisman was declared over by many pundits. However, the race is not over. Mendoza’s performance on the final drive gave him a signature moment that every Heisman contender needs.
His campaign has gone from a few people talking about it, to the whole country raving about the final drive. While there is still a long way to go and plenty of stars in the race, his campaign is going to take off.
Stock Down
Aggressiveness in Tough Road Environments
Look, IU won and that’s what matters most. However, there is a concern bubbling under the surface about Indiana’s mindset when it comes to big games in big environments on the road. In IU’s two losses last year and especially in the playoff loss to Notre Dame the Hoosiers did not play or coach to their usual aggressive selves.
That happened again Saturday. The Hoosiers did not attack on offense like they usually do, and some of that is due to the talent of the opponent, but IU let Penn State dictate the play, especially in the second half. It’s more than a one-off, but not a five-alarm fire. It’s something that is correctable. We have seen what IU can do in a tough road environment when the Hoosiers dictate the play. IU went into Autzen and pushed around Oregon.
Tackling
According to Pro Football Focus the Hoosier defense missed 10 tackles. It’s the second time in three games that the Hoosiers have missed double digit tackles (UCLA). Aiden Fisher, Mario Landino and Devin Boykin all missed two tackles. Isaiah Jones, Stephen Daley, Amare Ferrell and Jamari Sharpe all missed tackles as well.
The Hoosiers are usually very good at tackles and while some of it was due to the talent of Penn State’s running backs, IU did not tackle well against Penn State and nearly cost them. Penn State had 93 yards rushing after contact and 107 yards after the catch. It was very uncharacteristic for IU’s defense.
Replay Reviews
I think everyone who watched the game Saturday was saying some version of “you gotta be kidding me” when the referee announced that “the previous play is under review”. There were at least four replay reviews and none of them were overturned. Each time the game would stop for multiple minutes just to say the call on the field was upheld. There was very little flow to the game. The replay system stinks and maybe it is time to go to the NFL version of the process with each team getting two challenges.
Hold
Undefeated Regular Season
There are plenty of IU fans who will look at the schedule and assume IU will finish the regular season 12-0 (9-0). The Hoosiers very well could, but if Saturday taught us anything, it was that it is hard to win in the Big Ten. On Saturday, we saw Oregon need a last-second field goal to win at Iowa and Washington get beat by a two-win Wisconsin team at Camp Randall. Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti will not let IU get ahead of itself, so put a pin in the undefeated talk until it happens.