Josh Hoover gets his Fernando Mendoza moment as Indiana escapes Nebraska scare
Quarterback Josh Hoover led Indiana to a narrow 20-17 victory over Nebraska despite a statistically poor performance. The win keeps Indiana's momentum alive following their successful previous season.
Why it matters
The game serves as a test of Indiana's ability to maintain championship-level performance after the departure of their star player, Fernando Mendoza.
When a team finishes a season 16-0 and wins the national title, it's easy to forget about the close calls along the way, but they were there for Indiana last season. The Hoosiers found themselves in close contests on the road against Iowa , Oregon and Penn State during the regular season. In the national title game, they were up against it against Miami .
The common thread across all four games was the ability to overcome adversity and make the plays necessary to win. The needle to that thread was Fernando Mendoza. It's why he won the Heisman Trophy, and it's why he went first overall in the NFL Draft .
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