Indiana’s season remains perfect.
And it’s thanks to what will be remembered as one of the best touchdowns of the 2025 college football season.
Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza connected with Omar Cooper Jr., who made a leaping, toe-tapping catch in the back of the end zone with 36 seconds left in the fourth quarter to lead Indiana to a 27-24 win over Penn State in Happy Valley on Saturday.
The touchdown capped off an incredible 10-play, 73-yard drive that helped No. 2 Indiana avoid an upset on the road at 3-6 Penn State.
Indiana led 20-10 going into the final quarter, but with 6:27 left, Penn State scored its second touchdown of the frame to pull ahead by four.
The Hoosiers got one final chance with 1:51 left, and even after taking a sack on the first play, Mendoza led an incredible two-minute drill.
Mendoza completed critical passes of 29 and 17 yards, the latter of which was a leaping grab along the near sideline by Charlie Becker to set up Indiana at the Penn State 7-yard line.
After back-to-back incompletions, Mendoza and Cooper hooked up for some magic. Mendoza fired the third-down pass high so only Cooper could snag it. And even with Penn State safety Zakee Wheatley draped all over him, Cooper was able to get his foot down. After review, the call was upheld, and the Hoosiers had the lead and a touchdown.
“Touchdown, wow!” Fox announcer Gus Johnson said before calling the catch, “unbelievable,” almost losing his voice in the process.
“Oh my gosh! That is the best catch I’ve seen all season long,” analyst Joel Klatt said.
Penn State got the ball back, but four plays later, they failed to answer, and Indiana kept its magical season rolling.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
