Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz heaps praise on Indiana ahead of Saturday's Kinnick showdown

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz smiled when asked Tuesday what flaws he sees in Indiana.

“All three phases,” he joked, before breaking into a grin and admitting there really aren’t many.

The Big Ten’s all-time winningest head coach has seen just about everything in more than two decades at Iowa, but Indiana’s start to 2025 has still made him pause. Ferentz called the Hoosiers “extremely impressive” and went as far as to compare Curt Cignetti’s team to last year’s national champions after reviewing their 63-10 dismantling of Illinois.

“It’s hard to find a weakness. It really is,” Ferentz said during his weekly media availability Tuesday. “I’m not saying it’s like playing Ohio State, but there’s some similarities in my mind if you look at their offense. They have a big, physical offensive line, two tight ends that are very effective. Then those three receivers as a group — they’re all really good individually, but as a group, it kind of takes you back to Ohio State, where pick your poison.”

At the center of Indiana’s surge is Fernando Mendoza, the redshirt junior quarterback who has become the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy.

“The quarterback might be the best quarterback in the country,” Ferentz said. “Somebody was saying he’s the leader for the Heisman. I don’t have a Heisman vote, but I’d vote for him based on what I have seen.”

Mendoza has been nearly flawless through four weeks, throwing for 975 yards, completing 76.8 percent of his passes and piling up 14 touchdowns without an interception. Against Illinois, he finished 21-for-23 for 267 yards and five scores, at one point connecting on 17 straight throws.

Ferentz noted Mendoza’s quick release is nearly impossible to disrupt.

“He gets the ball out extremely quick. It’s going to be tough to even get a hand on him,” Ferentz said. “And he’ll run it, but when he runs it, they have designed runs for him and then they also have — he’ll flush it out, but he’s looking down, he’ll look to maybe a throw on the run, which is tough to defend.”

Mendoza has plenty of help. Indiana’s three-headed receiving corps has combined for 758 yards and 12 touchdowns. Omar Cooper Jr. has 377 yards and five scores, Elijah Sarratt has matched him with five touchdown grabs and E.J. Williams Jr. has added two more.

The ground game is no less potent. Even after losing Lee Beebe Jr. to a season-ending injury, the Hoosiers have churned out a school-record four straight 300-yard rushing games.

Indiana’s offensive fireworks overshadow another reality: the Hoosiers are just as stingy on defense. They rank third nationally in total defense and fifth in scoring defense, surrendering just 8.3 points per game.

“Then on top of it, they’re playing really good on defense,” Ferentz said. “They’re very aggressive, and they’re good at playing with a lead, which they’ve pretty much been doing all season long.”

Even special teams have contributed. Indiana’s first points against Illinois came on a blocked punt return, and its first touchdown of the season was a punt return score from Jonathan Brady.

“I forgot about special teams, right? First touchdown [Saturday vs. Illinois] was a blocked punt,” Ferentz said with a laugh. “Other than that, there’s no problem.”

Ferentz saved some of his highest praise for Cignetti, who took over in Bloomington prior to the 2024 season after a long run at James Madison.

“Coach Cignetti has come in and done a great job,” Ferentz said. “Really upgraded their personnel last year, and beyond that, they’re really well-coached. You didn’t see a game where they didn’t play hard and look like a really good football team. From my vantage point, I think they’re a better football team this year. They’ve upgraded even more with their personnel, done a good job with the transfer portal, and also developing the guys that they have on their roster.”

The Hoosiers imported a wave of transfers from James Madison and elsewhere, and Ferentz said their ability to quickly jell has been “really impressive.”

Indiana, ranked No. 11 nationally and averaging 54.8 points per game, enters Kinnick Stadium on Saturday with a chance to snap an 18-year drought in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes, 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the Big Ten, counter with a defense that has allowed just two passing touchdowns all season and the advantage of a Homecoming crowd.

“They’re playing at a high level right now,” Ferentz said. “Every game they’ve been in, they’ve been winning very decisively. Just extremely impressed. A big challenge for us there.”

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