Indiana takes down Ohio State for first Big Ten title since 1967
Indiana takes down Ohio State for first Big Ten title since 1967
INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana assistant coach Ola Adams put his hands on his head in disbelief as confetti fell and the crowd roared at Lucas Oil Stadium.
But the scene unfolding before Adams on Saturday night was very believable. Since the moment coach Curt Cignetti swaggered onto campus two years earlier and outlined a success plan for the losingest program in college football, Indiana has been climbing.
On a magical night 50 miles from their home stadium, the Hoosiers reached the top, outlasting Ohio State 13-10 in a Big Ten championship game that matched the nation's top two teams, both undefeated. Indiana beat No. 1 to become No. 1.
"We're going to go in the playoffs as the No. 1 seed," Cignetti said. "A lot of people probably thought that wasn't possible.
The milestones achieved are seemingly endless. The Hoosiers won their first Big Ten championship since 1967 and their first outright title since 1945. They beat Ohio State for the first time since 1988, ending a 32-game losing streak. And quarterback Fernando Mendoza likely clinched the school's first Heisman Trophy with several heroic throws, rallying his team from a 10-3 deficit.
It shows everybody: Why not? Why would you not want to come to Indiana?" linebacker Isaiah Jones said. "For any of the doubters out there, this kind of was the final nail in the coffin for any of the Indiana doubters, the Curt Cignetti doubters, the Hoosier doubters.
This was the last thing that needed to be proved, and we did it."
Indiana beat a top-ranked team for the first time in 17 tries, holding Ohio State scoreless for the final 40:08 and twice turning away the Buckeyes inside the 10-yard line.
As a basketball manager, Keith Smart's shot that won the national championship [in 1987]," Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson, who worked under coach Bob Knight for that title team, told ESPN. "This is right up there with that. This is a big moment."
Cignetti guided the Hoosiers to a team-record 11 wins in his debut season, but when Indiana faced Ohio State, the eventual national champion, and Notre Dame, the eventual runner-up, its deficiencies were exposed in double-digit losses. Although Indiana faced a tougher regular-season schedule this fall, recorded a signature road win against Oregon and had shown clear improvement in several areas, it still entered Saturday's game as the underdog.
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