Indiana edges Iowa 20-15 on late Mendoza-Sarratt TD, safety seals win

Iowa City, Iowa — No. 11 Indiana held off the Iowa Hawkeyes 20-15 on Saturday at Kinnick Stadium, as quarterback Fernando Mendoza connected with Elijah Sarratt on a 49-yard touchdown with 1:28 remaining to break a 13-13 tie and ultimately decide the contest.

The game swung late after Iowa had a chance to take the lead with 2:01 left when kicker Drew Stevens missed a 42-yard field goal. Indiana then engineered a drive that ended with Mendoza finding Sarratt on a slant route; Sarratt broke a tackle by Deshaun Lee and ran into the end zone to give the Hoosiers the go-ahead score. Indiana closed out the clock with a deliberate play that resulted in Mendoza being tackled in the end zone for a safety with no time remaining.

Mendoza finished 13 of 23 for 233 yards and two touchdown passes. Sarratt had six receptions for 132 yards. Indiana was held to 337 total yards, its lowest offensive output of the season, but did enough to improve to 4-0. The Hawkeyes fell to 3-1.

The game began with an early momentum swing for Indiana when Amare Ferrell intercepted an Iowa pass on the third offensive play, setting up a 14-yard touchdown pass from Mendoza to Omar Cooper Jr. Later, Nico Radicic...