Indiana
How Fernando Mendoza’s Resiliency Embodies Indiana Football’s Upset Win at Oregon
EUGENE, Ore. — Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti had already given his team the same relative speech each of the previous five days. But in this moment, as he commanded attention in the No. 7 Hoosiers’ locker room moments before kickoff for Saturday’s 30-20 upset victory at No. 3 Oregon, his words carried more weight.
Better yet, his words carried advice his team ultimately put to use over the next three-and-a-half hours.
“He told us we were going to have adversity, and we knew we were going to have to fight through it to get a win,” senior running back Roman Hemby said postgame. “We knew it wasn’t going to be just a knockdown all day for us. We knew we were going to have to have some ebbs and flows in the game, and we knew that we had to have that next play mentality.”
The Hoosiers faced adversity several times Saturday, be it allowing a 44-yard touchdown in the first quarter or dealing with the consequences of drive-altering pre-snap penalties on several occasions.
But they never faced it more than with 12 minutes and 42 seconds remaining in the game, as they walked, or jogged, back to their own sideline.
With pressure bearing down, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza threw a pass to receiver E.J. Williams Jr. on a crossing route. But Mendoza, who didn’t have the time or space to set his feet, didn’t get much on the ball, and Cignetti said Williams needed to flatten his route to help out his quarterback.
Blame aside, Oregon defensive back Brandon Finney Jr. undercut Mendoza’s pass and returned it for a 35-yard pick-six, drawing the score even at 20 apiece in the final frame. Indiana’s one-score lead — and chance at seizing control — had evaporated.
When he returned to the sideline, Mendoza wasn’t met with criticism or complaints. Instead, he found a group of Hoosiers entirely unfazed and ready to breathe confidence into him.
“I had all the leaders and basically everybody on the team come up to me, ‘Hey, we’re still behind you. Like, we got your back,’” Mendoza said postgame.
Senior linebacker Aiden Fisher was among those who approached and supported Mendoza. The gesture was particularly moving to Mendoza, who said it’d be easy for defenders to grow frustrated with him after allowing a touchdown and jeopardizing a stout defensive effort.
“After I threw the pick six, Fish came up to me and said, ‘Hey brother, I have your back. I believe in you,’” Mendoza said. “And to have a team captain say that and come up to me and say that, it inspires confidence in not just me, but the entire offense.”
While Indiana’s offense huddled near its own 30-yard line during the media timeout before the next drive, nothing changed in Mendoza’s routine — he threw passes off to the side. He did, however, have a visitor: Cignetti.
The 64-year-old coach asked Mendoza if he was having fun. Mendoza said he was. Cignetti urged him to have more fun, and with three pats to his back, Cignetti let his quarterback continue his traditional pre-drive process.
The opposing sideline carried a different tone. Hemby said Oregon was hyped and riled up after the pick-six. But Indiana had the ball, a game plan and a quick chance to flush Mendoza’s mistake.
Oh, and the Hoosiers had something else, too.
“We had a mission to go finish,” Hemby said. “So, we had to go out there and lead a drive to go get another score, and that’s what we did.”
Indiana stared down a season- and program-defining 12-minute, 42-second stretch and smiled. After all, this is what Cignetti projected Saturday to be like. The Hoosiers were confident and prepared, and their execution reflected it.
The drive itself was slow and methodical.
Hemby started the possession with a two-yard run. Mendoza hit receiver Omar Cooper Jr. for a nine-yard catch-and-run to move the chains. Indiana converted three third downs, including a do-or-die 3rd and Goal from the Ducks’ 8-yard line where Mendoza hit Sarratt for a go-ahead touchdown on a back-shoulder pass.
There was never panic, only belief.
“That’s resiliency right there,” Cignetti said postgame. “That’s like being a rubber ball, right? If you’re not resilient, you don’t want to be like the crystal chandelier. When you drop it, it breaks into a million pieces. You want to be like a rubber ball. It bounces right back into your hand.
“That’s what he did after he threw the interception. He came right back and made the plays and wasn’t affected by the previous play. In this game, if you want to play the best you can be, you’ve got to always play like this. Never too high, never too low. Not affected by success, not affected by failure during the course of the game.”
Mendoza finished the day 20-for-31 passing for 215 yards, one touchdown and an interception while adding 31 yards on six rushes. What his outing lack in glit, he made up for in grit.
Indiana knew Saturday wasn’t always going to be pretty. Cignetti told the Hoosiers during the week he expected a dogfight. He has 43 seasons of coaching experience and plenty of big-game memories. His team believed him.
Cignetti admitted Indiana’s mindset was the most important question to him entering the game. It’s the one facet he didn’t have an answer for until live bullets started flying.
Mendoza’s mistake put Indiana under its biggest microscope this season. The Hoosiers handled it like veterans — perhaps because, after playing against two top 10 teams last year and another in Illinois this year, they are.
“Coach Cig was telling us we’re going to go through adversity, and the adversity hit right then and there,” Sarratt said. “And it was all about just responding, and we were able to do that, so it was great to see.”
The Hoosiers were mentally wired for the moment long before Cignetti’s pre-game speech. Mendoza said Indiana banded together and became a stronger team after battling in spring and fall practice. There’s complete buy-in, he said, which makes the Hoosiers “special.”
Mendoza, who transferred from Cal to Indiana in December, already has Cignetti’s oft used cliches mastered. He recited Cignetti’s line about playing one snap at a time and treating it like the most important play merely because it’s the next one.
And on a day where Indiana took its step into the realm of modern college football giants, Mendoza, perhaps more than ever, reflected all the qualities of his coach: Poised under pressure with an impenetrable will to win.
“We knew there was going to be resilience in this game, and we knew we had to overcome resiliency and adversity at some point,” Mendoza said. “And I think we showcased that perfectly.”
One of the robots that will begin delivering orders on the Indiana University Bloomington campus took a practice run on Thursday, June 4, 2026. There are 24 automated delivery vehicles that will be delivering food. Photo from USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.
By Andrew Miller, Special to The Herald-Times
The Herald-Times, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
INDIANAPOLIS — A sleek white robot sits with a scrolling “GO HOOSIERS!” message on its pixelated front screen. It cycles through other faces too: darting eyes, blinks and hearts.
Orders placed using the Grubhub app may be delivered on the Indiana University by robots beginning June 8, 2026. Photo from USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.
“These robots are very, very polite,” Rahul Shrivastav, executive director of IU Dining and Hospitality, said Thursday, June 4, during a test run.
It’s one of a fleet of 24 food-delivery robots launching June 8 on Indiana University Bloomington campus, in partnership with Grubhub and Avride. Shrivastav said they’re part of an effort to make campus food more accessible and convenient.
The robots have been tested for 18 months, mapping and learning paths. They’ll be confined to campus, with boundaries of East Third Street and Ind. 46. On the west, their coverage will extend up Indiana Avenue to 13th Street, North Walnut Grove to 17th Street and continue north on North Fee Lane.
Shrivastav said they’ll help students busy with classes and those with accessibility needs. Ordering via robot will be available on the Grubhub app. The robots will be doing deliveries from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily. Shrivastav said store hours vary by location on the weekend so he advices customers to look at the store hours on the GrubHub app.
Participating locations this summer include:
- King’s Hawaiian, BlenzBowls, The Meltdown and Hubbard & Cravens at Bookmarket at Herman B Wells Library
- The Vault Pub, Sugar and Spice Bakery, The Globe, The Lantern, Union Market and Whitfield Grill at the Indiana Memorial Union.
- Eskenazi Café at the Eskenazi Museum of Art
Drew Smith, director of retail dining at IU, said the robots can hold about eight entrees with four drinks. Its trunk is well-insulated, he said, keeping hot orders hot and cold ones cold.
The delivery fee is $3.50 per order. That fee isn’t covered by student meal plans, but the food ordered can be. And Smith said the robots don’t need tips.
One of the robots that will begin delivering orders on the Indiana University Bloomington campus took a practice run on Thursday, June 4, 2026. There are 24 automated delivery vehicles that will be delivering food. A robot with a food delivery waits for a customer to pick up their order at the Indiana University Sample Gates on Thursday, June 4, 2026, during a practice run. Photo from USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.
“Now, some people still throw flowers in there, and stuff,” Smith said. “I’ve seen it at other universities doing that.”
Other state universities have already introduced similar services. Purdue University adopted them in 2019, and Ball State University launched its own fleet in 2022. Shrivastav said IU waited to make sure it had the “right robot” and had time to prepare.
The robots have often made the news because of vandalism and targeted assaults. But Shrivastav said he’s not concerned about that being a problem at IU. He said students have ended up “adopting these robots and naming them” at other campuses. Still, they’ll have an added layer of security, with footage reviewable by police.
“They also have cameras everywhere,” he said. “So any vandalism, anything like that, is always recorded.”
Customers use the GrubHub app to unlock the robot when it reaches its destination. Students, parents and visitors can order food using the robot, to be delivered on the IU campus.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Food delivery robots to launch on Indiana University campus
INDIANAPOLIS − Indianapolis prosecutors announced that a 14-year-old boy has been charged in the fatal shooting of an Indiana University graduate in a politicized homicide case consuming the state’s capital.
The teen suspect is accused of killing Brett Scrogham, a 23-year-old recent graduate of Indiana University Kelley School of Business, in late May in a downtown Indianapolis parking garage. The boy faces charges of felony murder, attempted robbery resulting in serious bodily injury and dangerous possession of a firearm, Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears announced June 5.
Officials have not released the 14-year-old boy’s identity, though they said he had no criminal history. Mears said his office has filed a petition to move the teen’s case, currently in juvenile court, to adult court.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears speaks during a press conference on Friday, June 5, 2026, in downtown Indianapolis, where he announced charges against a 14-year-old boy who was arrested and accused of killing Indiana University graduate Brett Scrogham. Scrogham was shot May 28 in a downtown parking garage and died two days later. The 14-year-old is charged with several crimes, including felony murder.
The case has drawn scrutiny from Indiana to Washington, DC, as elected officials and local law enforcement grapple with the teen’s age, youth access to firearms, and how local prosecutors are addressing crime.
Mears, a Democrat, has drawn scrutiny from Republicans in the GOP-leaning state over his handling of prosecutions in the state’s predominantly Democratic capital city.
On the Senate floor of the U.S. Capitol, Sen. Jim Banks, R-Indiana, on June 1 said Scrogham’s shooting was indicative of a “crisis” with what he called “soft-on-crime policies.”
On June 5, Mears said “a lot of people” are “very willing to assign blame” before knowing all the facts.
U.S. Sen. Jim Banks spoke on the Senate floor June 1, 2026, days after the shooting death of Brett Scrogham, 23, of Greenwood (pictured right), who died May 30 of a gunshot wound he suffered in downtown Indianapolis on May 28, 2026. Screenshot/Senator Jim Banks X profile
On May 28, Scrogham was shot while in a vehicle inside a downtown Indianapolis parking garage near the Indiana Convention Center, police said. Scrogham died two days later of a gunshot wound to the head.
On June 3, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police homicide detectives arrested the teen suspect on the city’s west side.
“While today’s arrest is significant, my heart breaks for everyone impacted by this tragedy,” Police Chief Tanya Terry said in a June 3 statement. “A young man lost his life, and another now faces allegations that will change his life forever.”
On June 5, Terry told reporters that the case wasn’t indicative of typical activity in downtown Indianapolis, with crimes in the area accounting for less than 7% of total crimes citywide.
With homicides, the figures appear even less pronounced in downtown. The most recent official data, from 2024, shows that five of the city’s 173 homicides that year happened downtown, or less than 3% of all homicides. In 2023, the number of homicides downtown was just over 1%, or two out of 169 citywide homicides.
A large pothole in the bus lane for the Red and Purple Lines on Capitol Avenue near the Indiana Statehouse on April 21, 2025. Jordan Smith/IndyStar
Since the start of 2026, there have been 57 homicides across the city, with three of them downtown, or about 5% of all homicides, according to a homicide tracker by IndyStar, part of the USA TODAY Network, drawing from Indianapolis police data.
Still, GOP lawmakers have focused on Indianapolis, saying that the city, particularly its downtown, needs state intervention to address rising violence. One bill in the Republican-controlled state General Assembly’s last session would have created a special district within downtown where a special prosecutor, appointed by the governor, could prosecute crimes. The bill failed.
In 2025, Gov. Mike Braun, a Republican, said he was open to the state intervening in the capital after gun violence during the July 4 weekend left five dead, including two youths.
Terry said parents need to be more involved in their children’s lives to prevent them from getting involved in violence.
“Do something with your kid,” she told reporters. “Don’t let them run off and do stuff like this.”
Contributing: Kayla Dwyer, IndyStar
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Teen charged in fatal shooting of Indiana graduate in politicized case
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