By Graham Nash
INDIANAPOLIS – For the first time ever, the Big Ten Football Championship featured the No.
1 and No. 2 teams in the country. The Ohio State Buckeyes and the Indiana Hoosiers both went
into the game undefeated, and both were looking to leave the game with the Big Ten title and the
top seed in the College Football Playoff.
It was all there for the taking. The question was, which one of the two Heisman favorites going
into the game – Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin
– would be the one to do so.
“This is the kind of game we expected,” Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti said. “They're going to
make plays; we're going to make plays … I liked our preparation coming into this game [and] I
liked our mindset.”
The game began eerily similar for the two gunslingers. On Ohio State’s second drive of the
game, Sayin threw his sixth interception of the season when Louis Moore leaped in front of
Brandon Inniss to give the Hoosiers phenomenal field position, just three yards out of the red
zone.
On Indiana’s third drive of the game, Mendoza also threw his sixth interception of the season.
Indiana drew up a screen play for wide receiver Elijah Sarratt, but Lorenzo Styles Jr. read the
play to perfection, delivered a hit on Sarratt, and the football drilled tight end Riley Nowakowski
in the back. The football floated mid-air, and Davison Igbinosun was the first to the football.
“[I] can't turn the ball over early in the game like that and put our defense in a bad spot,” Sayin
said. “I ended up giving up points for that. Those points are me.”
Sayin and Mendoza immediately responded to their receptions with near-identical performances,
completing six of their first seven passes. Sayin’s six completions spanned three Ohio State
drives that finished in two punts and a touchdown. Mendoza’s six completions spanned only one
drive that resulted in a 39-yard missed field goal.
The initial question was who would respond better immediately after the interception. It changed
to who would respond better after the halftime break after a slow offensive first half for both
teams.
“It's about being process-oriented, never being complacent,” Mendoza said. “You always want to
push yourself every single day, every single play and every single rep. Acting like it's the final
play of the game, [acting] like it's the most important play of the game, [the] most important play
of your life.”
The third quarter was when things flipped. Ohio State got the ball first, leading 10-6, but could
only advance 11 yards down the field, resulting in a punt. Enter Fernando “HeismanDoza.” The
front-runner for the award led a seven play, 88-yard touchdown drive that finished with a
contested Elijah Sarratt catch in the corner of the endzone. Indiana led 13-10, and Ohio State
trailed for the first time in the second half all season.
In the third quarter, Mendoza completed three passes on four attempts for 80 yards (seven yards
shy of his first half total) and a touchdown. Sayin threw seven passes on eight attempts for 49
yards and zero touchdowns.
“Fernando was throwing dimes … and Sarratt [had] a big touchdown,” Cignetti said. “And [I]
can't say enough about the way [Mendoza] competes. [He’s] got the heart of a champion, and
played great tonight and when we needed him.”
Still, Sayin had a chance immediately following Indiana’s first and only touchdown drive of the
game to retake the lead. The Buckeyes charged 70 yards down the field on 11 plays to the
Indiana 5 yard line. They looked poised to get into the end zone and prepared to retake the lead.
That all changed when Ohio State chose to sneak the ball on fourth-and-1 with Sayin. Sayin
appeared to convert with ease at first glance. However, after a review, his knee was down short
and Ohio State turned the ball over on downs.
“For the most part, our sneaks have been pretty good this year,” Day said. “But we didn't execute
it in this one. We'll have to figure out if it's the right thing moving forward and try to put our
guys in the best position to be successful.”
The fourth quarter was again marred by missed opportunities for the Buckeyes. Sayin got Ohio
State to the Indiana 9 yard line but was held to a field goal attempt. A field goal attempt that
OSU kicker Jayden Felding pulled left of the uprights from 27 yards.
Still, Ohio State had a chance. With all three timeouts, the Buckeyes needed to get a stop with
Indiana starting on its own 9 yard line. The Hoosiers rushed the ball twice on first and second
down, and were faced with third-and-6 to try and ice the game.
Mendoza, who had already had three season-defining fourth quarter drives at Iowa, at Oregon,
and at Penn State, dropped back, saw his roommate – Charlie Becker – one-on-one on the
Buckeye sideline, and delivered a 33-yard strike to effectively end the game and the Heisman
race.
“I would love the opportunity to get the invite to New York,” Mendoza said. “But I think it's just
really a testament to the team. And it's not a player award. It's a team award. And I think it just
speaks a testament to how much that this team has had that never-ending process of learning and
getting better, and that has culminated at this point.”
Both quarterbacks had their chances, but Mendoza, like he’s done so often this season, came up
with the magic and the adjustment to win the football game. Currently, the Indiana quarterback is
the heavy favorite for the Heisman trophy, with Sayin sitting as the fourth favorite.
The coveted award will be given to the best player in college football this Saturday, Dec. 13, in
New York City. Coverage begins at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.
