How it Happened: Indiana weathers slow start to beat Wisconsin
Indiana football returned home Saturday to play host to Wisconsin in what was likely the Hoosiers’ final home game of the 2025 season.
On a day in which Indiana celebrated its seniors pregame, the Hoosiers rallied after a sluggish first half to take down the Badgers 31-7 to improve to 11-0 on the season.
Here’s how the action unfolded in Bloomington.
Indiana sleepwalks through the first half
Indiana’s first half performance on Saturday was far from impressive. Entering heavily favored, the Hoosiers didn’t look the part of the No. 2 team in the country over the course of the game’s first 30 minutes.
After scoring on their first offensive drive of the game — a 9-play, 72-yard drive that resulted in quarterback Fernando Mendoza finding receiver Charlie Becker for a 31-yard score — the Hoosiers’ offense began to sputter.
Indiana was forced to punt on back-to-back drives to begin the second quarter following the first quarter touchdown drive.
Following the Hoosiers’ second punt of the second quarter, the Badgers momentarily tied the game with a gutsy fourth and short 45-yard touchdown pass.
Indiana answered by driving down into the red zone before being forced to settle for a field goal to close out the first half with just a three point lead.
Wisconsin appeared to win the battle of the line of scrimmage in the first half, holding Indiana to just 20 yards on the ground in the first half and sacking Mendoza three times.
Indiana sets the tone with score to start the second half
After a sluggish first half, Indiana needed to come out and set the tone coming out of the halftime intermission. That’s exactly what the Hoosiers did.
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Indiana received the ball to open the third quarter and promptly embarked on a 9-play, 75-yard drive to take full control of the contest. A 48-yards rope from Mendoza to Becker highlighted the drive before tight end Holden Staes capped it off with a 2-yard touchdown reception.
That drive set the tone for what was to come in the second half. Indiana’s defense later forced a fumble deep inside of Wisconsin territory, which resulted in — just one play later — a 21-yard touchdown pass from Mendoza to former Badger Riley Nowakowski.
All told, Indiana would got on to outscore Wisconsin 21-0 in the second half of play, while outgaining the Badgers 229-23.
The Hoosiers finished the contest scoring 24 unanswered points.
Fernando Mendoza stuffs the stat sheet
Although the offense was held to its fewest points in a home game all season, Mendoza still found a way to stuff the stat sheet with a near perfect day.
Mendoza finished the day going 22-of-24 for 299 yards and four touchdowns. The 294 yards through the air is Mendoza’s second-most in a game this season. Meanwhile, his four touchdowns mark the fifth time this year he’s thrown for four or more scores.
After delivering a Heisman moment on the road in State College a week ago, Mendoza didn’t need any heroics Saturday against Wisconsin. However, his big day through the air certainly won’t hurt his Heisman campaign from a statistical standpoint.
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