Indiana Football WR Elijah Sarratt’s FBS-Best Streak Ends Due to Hamstring Injury

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Indiana senior receiver Elijah Sarratt checked a box he’d hoped he never would Saturday in the No. 2 Hoosiers’ 55-10 victory over Maryland at SECU Stadium: Complete a college football game without a reception.

Sarratt entered Saturday with an FBS-best 46-game reception streak, and he’d caught at least one pass in every game he’d played from Saint Francis (Pa.), James Madison University and his first year-and-a-half in Bloomington.

The streak ended Saturday, but with an asterisk. Sarratt suffered a hamstring injury in the first quarter and did not play the remainder of the game. He was on the field for only nine snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.

“Sarratt, hamstring tightened up on him a little bit,” Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said postgame.

Bowling Green State tight end Jyrin Johnson now holds the longest active reception streak at 42 consecutive games.

Without Sarratt, the Hoosiers turned to sophomore receiver Charlie Becker, a budding breakout player and roommate of Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Becker caught only pass Saturday, but he made it count.

Leading 7-3 with 13 minutes remaining in the second quarter, Mendoza fired an eight-yard pass to Becker, who turned up field and collected 44 yards after the catch to complete a 52-yard gain. It marked the longest reception of Becker’s career.

“(Becker) showed that real good speed,” Mendoza said postgame, “and I think he went in there and did a good job blocking.”

But Becker’s quality showing doesn’t overshadow the absence of Sarratt, who entered Saturday leading the Hoosiers in catches (45), receiving yards (609) and receiving touchdowns (10), the last of which is also the best mark in the Big Ten.

“Elijah going out, that obviously sucks,” Mendoza said. “He creates a lot of big plays, and also he creates a lot of double teams, which can set up a lot of other guys.”

Redshirt junior Omar Cooper Jr. led the Hoosiers in receiving Saturday, catching seven passes for 86 yards and one touchdown on nine targets. Redshirt senior receiver E.J. Williams Jr. added two catches for 15 yards, while freshman LeBron Bond caught a 14-yard pass and redshirt senior receiver Jonathan Brady notched a six-yard score.

While the Hoosiers can’t afford — and don’t appear likely —to lose Sarratt for an extended period, Saturday offered a glimpse at the depth behind him.

“We have a lot of confidence in all our guys, and the depth, and just the whole Indiana team,” Mendoza said. “It’s next man up, next man mentality, that they’re going to go and do their job. And not just be a filler, but they’re going to excel at their job.”

The 6-foot-2, 213-pound Sarratt is a strong perimeter blocker and an asset to the Hoosiers’ running game, but Indiana still delivered its best performance on the ground this season.

Indiana rushed for 367 yards, and three runners — redshirt seniors Kaelon Black and Roman Hemby and redshirt freshman Khobie Martin — each eclipsed 80 rushing yards. The Hoosiers averaged over seven yards per carry.

Black, who had 14 carries for a game-high 110 yards, said Indiana’s offense had to pivot after Sarratt’s injury.

“Honestly, it was just — things were just happening on the fly,” Black said. “But I feel like our coaches did a great job of just making sure that we were prepared going into it, regardless of the situation. And I feel like we came out and we did what we had to do.”

No. 2 Indiana (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) has little time to rest and recovery, as it faces Penn State (3-5, 0-5 Big Ten) at noon Saturday, Nov. 8, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania.