(Iowa City, IA) — At his weekly press conference, Iowa Head Coach Kirk Ferentz said if he had a vote for the Heisman Trophy he would vote for Fernando Mendoza. The quarterback for Indiana put together a Heisman type play late in the game on Saturday to beat the Hawkeyes 20-15. Mendoza threw a 49 yard TD pass to Elijah Saratt with 1:28 left to play to avoid an upset by Iowa.
Sarratt caught a slant pass from Mendoza on the left side and broke a tackle from Deshaun Lee of Iowa and raced the rest of the way for the go ahead score. Indiana was second in the nation in total offense but Iowa held the Hoosiers to their lowest output of the season with 337 total yards.
The game was tied 13-13 with about two minutes to play but usually reliable Drew Stevens missed a potential go ahead 42 yard field goal.
For Iowa, it was their 11th straight loss against a ranked opponent. More bad news for the Hawkeyes — QB Mark Gronowski left the game in the 4th quarter on a run and did not return. Hank Brown came in and was just 5-13 passing for 48 yards.
Iowa falls to 3-2, 1-1 while Indiana goes to 5-0, 2-0 — the Hawkeyes will visit Wisconsin in two weeks.
Iowa Stats
Mark Gronowski 19-25 passing, 144 yards, 1 INT; rushing TD
Kamauri Moulton 18 carries, 75 yards
Sam Phillips 5 catches for 64 yards
Kaden Wetjen 4 catches for 29 yards
DJ Vonnahme 4 catches for 16 yards
Koen Entringer 10 tackles, 7 solo
Indiana Stats
Fernando Mendoza 13-23 passing, 233 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Roman Hemby 15 carries, 86 yards
Eljiah Sarratt 6 catches, 132 yards, 1 TD
