Indiana entered the 2025 season with major doubts about whether Curt Cignetti could replicate the success he had in his first year at the program. The Hoosiers not only went undefeated in the regular season but also won the Big Ten championship and national championship.

However, before Mendoza delivered the clutch blow to Miami in the championship, another moment during the regular season stood out. That was the moment that convinced the Indiana head coach about how far his team can go.

“Probably at the end of the Penn State game. Because that was such an improbable comeback,” said Cignetti during his June 24 appearance on Next Up with Adam Breneman when asked if there was any moment when he felt 2025 would be a pretty special year.

“To take that sack on first and 10 based on what had happened the previous 12 or 13 minutes and how much time was left with no timeouts to pull that game out. Once we won that game and I started walking across the field to shake Terry Smith’s hand, the thought did occur to me, like, ‘Wow, this might be a team that [could win a national championship,] and I don’t think that way.'”

Indiana traveled to Beaver Stadium on November 8 last year to take on a struggling Penn State side led by an interim head coach. The No. 2-ranked Hoosiers started the game like a team that had a 9-0 record. At one point in the second half, they led 20-7, and it looked like the Nittany Lions were getting handed another home loss.

But then the momentum shifted. Penn State’s freshman QB Ethan Grunkemeyer took over the game with back-to-back touchdown drives. With 6:27 left in the game, the Hoosiers were now trailing 20-24. Following unsuccessful drives, Indiana got the ball back with 1:51 left on the clock. However, they didn’t have any timeouts.

That single drive makes the case for Mendoza’s Heisman and his selection with the first overall in the 2026 NFL Draft. At various points, he was sacked, but he remained unfazed. The Indiana QB threw darts after darts. A 22-yarder to Omar Cooper Jr. was followed by a 12-yard pass to EJ Williams, and then came a 29-yard strike to tight end Riley Nowakowski. But it wasn’t done yet.

The Hoosiers were within the 10-yard line but failed to get a touchdown on their first two tries. With 36 seconds left, Mendoza threw a pass to the back of the end zone on 3rd-and-goal. It didn’t appear that Omar Cooper was going to make it. However, the wide receiver completed a jaw-dropping toe-tap touchdown catch that stunned everyone. Announcer Gus Johnson almost lost his voice describing that play. And while many may not have believed that Indiana would pull off the comeback, Cignetti knew what his team could do.

“I guarantee if you pulled 107,000 people that were in the stadium that day and really loud. Probably 106,900 would vote one way [PSU win] and about a 100 would have voted the other. The key thing was the 11 in that huddle. Morphed. Just like that,” Cignetti said.

Mendoza went on to win the Heisman, and Indiana did the unthinkable. However, the seeds of the spirit that carried them through their playoff opponents were sown during gritty victories over Penn State, Iowa, and Oregon.