Fernando Mendoza tossed a 49-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Sarratt with 1:28 left, lifting No. 11 Indiana to a 20-15 Big Ten Conference win over Iowa in Iowa City on Saturday.
Mendoza withstood pressure on the third down play and found Sarratt open over the middle. Sarratt broke a tackle and raced into the end zone, completing a big game that saw him catch six passes on eight targets for 132 yards.
Mendoza was 13 of 23 for 233 yards and two touchdowns with an interception as the Hoosiers (5-0, 2-0) survived their first road test of the year. Roman Hemby added 86 yards on 15 rushes for Indiana, which outgained Iowa 337-284,
Starting quarterback Mark Gronowski completed 19 of 25 passes for 144 yards and an interception before leaving with a leg injury in the fourth quarter. Backup quarterback Hank Brown was 5 of 13 for 48 yards with an interception.
The Hawkeyes took a 13-10 edge on Drew Stevens’ 54-yard field goal with 12:43 left in the game but the Hoosiers tied it on Nico Radicic’s 44-yarder at the 9:47 mark. Stevens missed wide left from 42 with 2:01 remaining, setting the stage for Mendoza’s heroics.
Mendoza ran out the game’s final three seconds by sprinting 40 yards into his end zone for a safety, capping the scoring.
Indiana took a 7-0 lead just 1:27 into the game when Mendoza cashed in a 24-yard field via a 14-yard touchdown pass to Omar Cooper. Gronowski was intercepted on the game’s second play by Amare Ferrell.
Iowa drew within 7-3 on Stevens’ 40-yard field goal at the 6:25 mark, capping a short drive set up by Kaden Wetjen’s 17-yard return to the Hoosiers’ 45. The Hawkeyes grabbed a 10-7 edge with Gronowski’s 3-yard run 22 seconds before the half, 11 plays after they stopped the Hoosiers on a 4th-down play at their 27.
But Indiana ripped down the field with the help of a 16-yard pass from Mendoza to Sarratt, plus a roughing the passer call, setting up Radicic for a 46-yard field goal with two seconds left. That made it 10-10 at intermission.
