Omar Cooper Jr. & Fernando Mendoza Send Message That Indiana is a Team of Destiny
Years from now, they will still be talking about this day.
At dining rooms and in basements across the state of Indiana, where basketball has ruled for much of the past century, they will tell stories about the one afternoon in early November when a man seemed to defy the laws of gravity.
Somehow, Omar Cooper Jr. made that catch. Somehow, his left foot stayed afloat as his body contorted in just the right position, giving his right foot just enough time to touch the end zone. Somehow, quarterback Fernando Mendoza got the pass off to begin with, heaving the ball to the sky under heavy pressure, hoping for the best possible outcome on third down.
Somehow, Indiana beat Penn State.
Sure, they were a sizable favorite coming into the day, but that didn't mean anything at the end. This magical football season, one of the most unlikely runs the sport has ever seen, stayed intact due to one magical play.
Gus Johnson, a man who has vocalized some of college football's biggest moments, couldn't find the words. His voice, the voice of chaos, caved in due to the gravity of the moment—a moment that could impact the college football season in robust ways still unknown.
"I've seen a lot of stuff in my days," Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti said following the win. "I've never seen anything quite like this."
In the short term, Indiana stays unbeaten amid the madness. The Hoosiers entered the week as the No. 2 team in the College Football Playoff Rankings, and that seems unlikely to change this week as the regular season schedule slowly winds down.
The Hoosiers have just two games remaining, a home game against Wisconsin and a road game against Purdue. After that, a matchup against fellow unbeaten Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game could be on tap.
Just how big is this win? It's hard to overstate exactly what it means.
While Indiana had a game to lose to keep the playoff hopes firmly alive, this changes everything. The Hoosiers will be sizable favorites over the next two weeks, and two victories could mean a bye in the first round of the playoff, regardless of the outcome in the title game.
In any football season, even for dominant teams, there will be weeks just like this. The key is to somehow flip the outcome in your favor, which Indiana accomplished.
For quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who was by no means perfect on Saturday, this result could mean everything. Lost in the hysteria of his touchdown pass were the many incredible plays he made to put his team in that position on the final drive, guiding Indiana 80 yards in total.
As of Saturday afternoon, unsurprisingly, Mendoza was the favorite to win the Heisman. Although Indiana has normalized football excellence over the past two seasons, the fact that the favorite to win the award calls Bloomington home is still a preposterous development.
The impact of this outcome across the Big Ten and beyond is massive. From the playoff bracket to college football's most prestigious award, Saturday will be a day that resonates for weeks to come.
In the moment, however, it's hard to even contemplate such future possibilities. The moment itself, one of the greatest catches and arguably greatest plays of the college football season, needs no further context.
Indiana has so much right to put itself in this position. It found the right coach, ensured that coach didn't leave and has seemingly mastered the art of building a roster two years in a row. They have established the blueprint for hopeful teams trying to find their way.
And they win. Oh, do they win.
They beat good teams. They clobber bad teams. And, when they are pushed to the brink against a talented roster on the road, they somehow find a way.
The season at Indiana was already magical. Now, after Saturday, nothing will be the same.
No matter what happens next, with so much work still to be done and so many tremendous opportunities still in front of them, they will remember this day.
They will remember all that went wrong and when hope was all but lost. And they will remember the catch that changed their football future.
