Indiana
Michigan State football grades vs. Indiana: Offense gets passing grade for timely plays
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Chris Solari rates Michigan State football on a scale of A to F after the Spartans’ 24-21 win at Indiana.
THE GAME: Michigan State football’s late TD holds up in wild 24-21 win at Indiana
Offense: C+
When MSU needed big plays, quarterback Katin Houser delivered. The redshirt freshman, despite missing some receivers badly with passes and others who were wide open and didn’t get throws, had a career day with 245 yards and three touchdowns on 26-for-41 passing with two interceptions. He completed 16 of those throws to Maliq Carr and Montorie Foster and used his legs to create at times and to extend plays at others. Carr put together his best performance of his career, finishing with 10 catches, 100 yards and two big-time touchdowns, including on MSU’s first drive. Foster’s highlight-reel 29-yard scoring grab, one of his seven for 93 yards, was the team’s catch of the year until Carr’s pinball game-winning 36-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Nate Carter’s third-quarter injury ended his day with 42 rushing yards, but senior transfer Jaren Mangham had his best game as a Spartan with 23 yards on 13 carries and five catches for 33 yards, including three first downs. MSU did all that despite losing starting center Nick Samac to a leg injury in the first quarter.
Defense: B-
This is graded on a curve with the injuries before and during the game on the defense. The Spartans allowed 258 yards through three quarters, but Brandon Wright, Jalen Sami, Aaron Brule and Simeon Barrow all got hurt in the final quarter. All but Wright returned to play through the pain and fatigue as Indiana put up 144 yards in the fourth, including 104 on the ground. MSU sacked Indiana quarterback Brendan Sorsby three times and hurried him two others, though the Spartans’ front seven lost him at times in the run game. The Hoosiers had two pass plays over 15 yards, a 38-yarder and a 24-yarder from Sorsby to Donaven McCulley, but Indiana’s top receiver had only one other catch and Sorsby finished 19-for-34 for 192 passing yards. Even though the Spartans gave up 402 total yards and 210 yards rushing, they also had four three-and-outs and forced a critical turnover on downs late in the third quarter.
Special teams: A
Barrow’s second blocked field goal in the past four games, coming at the end of the first half, proved to be a major difference-maker. Redshirt freshman Ryan Eckley put together perhaps his most consistent punting performance, averaging 51 yards on four attempts and landing three inside the Indiana 20-yard line, one of which pinned the Hoosiers at their 1-yard line. And when the Spartans needed Jonathan Kim, he delivered a 43-yard field goal in his only attempt. He also had four touchbacks among his five kickoffs.
COUCH: 3 quick takes (from afar) on Michigan State’s 24-21 win at Indiana
Coaching: C+
The good is clear: Harlon Barnett and his staff went on the road with fewer than 50 scholarship players due to injuries and other attrition and somehow came out with a second win in the past three weeks. They’ve done an impressive job keeping players motivated and engaged despite the turbulence since Mel Tucker’s firing and the volatility of the roster. The bad starts with the near-disaster at the end, as Indiana caught MSU off-guard and with field-goal personnel after a fourth-and-1 timeout with 18 seconds to play, bringing on its offense to pick up the first down and take a deep shot on the next play. It worked out, because Tom Allen’s short-term winning gamble ultimately backfired with Sorsby being called for intentional grounding, the Hoosiers having to burn their final timeout and kicker Chris Freeman backing up 5 yards from his original spot and missing a kick that could have sent the game to overtime. The Spartans’ offense also continued to try and run the ball in the middle after Samac’s injury despite averaging just 2.1 yards per carry. But also credit Jay Johnson for taking the training wheels off for Houser to throw 41 passes.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the “Spartan Speak” podcast for new episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Hoosier football team moved up one spot to No. 2 in this week’s Associated Press college football poll.
The move comes after Indiana dominated Michigan State, 38-13, in the Old Brass Spittoon Game on Saturday afternoon in Bloomington, while last week’s second-ranked team, Miami, was upset by unranked Louisville at home, 24-21, on Friday night.
The No. 2 spot breaks the record the Hoosiers set just last week for the highest ranking in program history. Indiana also received six first-place votes, the only No. 1 votes top-ranked Ohio State didn’t receive in this week’s poll.
The Hoosiers and Buckeyes are both 7-0 and the only two undefeated (4-0) teams left in the Big Ten. They are on track to meet in the Big Ten Championship Game at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday, December 6.
There are seven teams sitting at 3-1 in Big Ten play, including Indiana’s opponent on Saturday, UCLA. The matchup will be featured on FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff. You can watch the game on FOX59.
BLOOMINGTON — As Indiana’s historic season has unfolded across the last several weeks, a minor urban legend has taken hold here in Bloomington.
It’s been said that, on more than one occasion, team staffers checking in on the football offices late into the evening have found one light on, and one man working under its glare.
There, they discover Fernando Mendoza — a quarterback Curt Cignetti repeatedly describes as among the hardest-working he’s ever coached — combing through film and studying keys, long after teammates and even coaches have gone home.
It turns out this is the product of a scheduling quirk. Mendoza, who graduated from Cal-Berkeley with a business degree in just three years, maintains a strict and detailed daily schedule. One that often includes evening film study and solo preparation.
Most of the time, Mendoza told IndyStar, his day concludes somewhere between 9 and 9:30 p.m., when he returns to the off-campus apartment he shares with his brother and backup, Alberto.
But on Thursdays, Mendoza makes a point to take his offensive line out to dinner. Never one to abbreviate that routine, Mendoza pushes those end-of-day sessions a little later in the evening.
Usually, his Thursdays wrap sometime between 10 and 11 p.m. He’ll lengthen his day before he shortens his process.
As Mendoza’s first — and perhaps only — season in Bloomington matures, more and more teammates, coaches and fans are coming to appreciate the meticulousness with which he approaches his job, one he is doing just about as well as any player in the country right now.
After another superlative performance Saturday afternoon, one interrupted by lightning but never Michigan State, it’s fair now to start believing the answer to the question, “Can Fernando Mendoza win the Heisman Trophy?” is, in fact, yes.
“Don’t ever tell him I said this, because he hates hearing stuff like this,” wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. said. “I feel like we’ve got the best quarterback in college football.”
IU students certainly made up their minds Saturday evening when, near the conclusion of a rain-soaked 38-13 homecoming victory over Michigan State, they began “HeisMendoza.”
Or maybe it’s “Heisman-doza.” We have time to work out the spelling, but the conversation needs having. Because Mendoza, who on Saturday helped Indiana retain the Old Brass Spittoon for the first time since 1969, certainly looks the part.
The redshirt junior widely considered among the best NFL prospects at his position in this draft class before the season began has done little to temper those expectations across the Hoosiers’ 7-0 (4-0 in Big Ten play) start.
He was ruthless against Illinois. He delivered game-winning moments in hard-fought victories at Iowa and at Oregon. And on Saturday, he unpacked Michigan State’s defense to the tune of 24 of 28, for 332 yards and four touchdowns.
Mendoza was not sacked once. He mixed in a handful of important quarterback runs, including one that converted a key third down. And he saved his best for his last, Mendoza’s final touchdown pass a 27-yarder dropped into a bucket, right on Elijah Sarratt’s facemask.
“This is the sharpest we’ve seen him, up to this point, in a game,” Cignetti said. “He continues to improve. He continues to prepare like nobody I’ve ever been around, and he’s getting better and better.”
Indiana’s coach has not always praised so publicly his latest transfer quarterback success.
A former quarterback himself, and a coach with considerable success developing players at that position, Cignetti keeps a high standard for his signal callers. Even as he often suggests quarterbacks get both too much praise and too much blame, that did not stop him demanding excellence of Kurtis Rourke, in 2024, and it has not stopped him setting the bar just as high (if not higher) for Mendoza, in 2025.
Increasingly, the Miami native is clearing it.
While it was not the toughest test he’s seen or will see in an Indiana uniform, Saturday felt in some ways like Mendoza’s most complete game thus far as a Hoosier.
The accuracy, the arm talent and the leadership qualities have always shined through, virtually since the day he set foot on campus in winter. The Spartans, though, felt the full force of a quarterback who looks more comfortable now than he has at any point so far this season.
Forty-one (41) sacks last season at Cal left Mendoza, by his own admission, with some undeniably bad habits: a lack of trust in protection, antsy feet in the pocket, a lack of comfort cycling through three or four reads each dropback.
Cignetti, quarterbacks coach Chandler Whitmer and offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan spent the offseason slowing Mendoza down, teaching him to trust, preaching patience and helping Mendoza understand the next level he could reach. The level his game now approaches.
Already an impressive quarterback with the Bears, Mendoza is now joining — whether he’ll admit it or not — conversations about the best quarterback in the country.
In fact, he’s more than joining them. He’s beginning to define them.
Mendoza teased this top-of-the-game dominance when he turned in back-to-back performances of similar quality against Indiana State and Illinois, two ends to the competitive spectrum that each suggested Mendoza’s abilities independent of the stage or the stakes.
“We have so many great players on our team,” Mendoza said. “Whatever spotlight that I might get from the offense’s success, I’m just trying to dish it out to all my teammates, because they really deserve it.”
He was not perfect at Iowa, nor at Oregon. But those are moments when a quarterback should be tough, not perfect, and in each game Mendoza delivered in the pivotal moment. First, the touchdown pass to Sarratt in Iowa City, then that decisive 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive responding to his own pick-six in the fourth quarter against the Ducks.
On that decisive drive in Eugene, Mendoza was 5 of 7, for 62 yards and what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown.
No such heroics were required Saturday. Just a steady hand and a cool head. Mendoza delivered both.
“He keeps building on previous performances,” Cignetti said. “I can’t say enough good things about him.”
A Heisman Trophy, like a national championship, is a difficult thing to win. That Indiana and its rapidly ascending quarterback approach Halloween chasing both speaks to the remarkable nature of this remarkable season.
There are still miles left to travel. No Big Ten schedule forgives complacency, the thing that might be Cignetti’s greatest enemy between now and the end of the season.
So long as IU’s offensive line keeps Mendoza upright — he took no sacks Saturday — quarterback play isn’t something Cignetti needs to sweat. He’s got a good one. Maybe a great one.
Maybe the best, as Cooper suggested, in all of college football.
Want more Hoosiers coverage? Sign up for IndyStar’s Hoosiers newsletter. Listen to Mind Your Banners, our IU Athletics-centric podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the latest on IndyStar TV: Hoosiers.
Indiana
What channel is Indiana football vs Michigan State on TV today? Start time, streaming, schedule
The Indiana football team is 6-0 going into today’s game against Michigan State (3-3) at Memorial Stadium.
Last week, IU defeated Oregon on the road, 30-20, in what was one of the biggest wins in program history. The Hoosiers are No. 3 in the US LBM Coaches Poll. The Hoosiers are 3-0 in the Big Ten, while the Spartans are 0-3.
Through six games, IU quarterback Fernando Mendoza has thrown for 1,423 yards, 17 touchdowns and two interceptions. Elijah Sarratt leads the Hoosiers with 39 receptions, 533 yards and seven scores.
Michigan State owns wins over Western Michigan, Boston College and Youngstown State. They have lost to USC, Nebraska and UCLA. Aidan Chiles has thrown for 1,019 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions.
Earlier in the week, coach Curt Cignetti signed a new to contract with Indiana. Cignetti’s new deal raised his average annual compensation to $11.6 million through 2033.
Watch Indiana vs Michigan State with Peacock
When is Indiana vs Michigan State game in Week 8 of the college football season? What date is MSU football at Indiana?
Indiana vs Michigan State is Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, at Memorial Stadium Bloomington.
What time does Michigan State vs Indiana game start today, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025? When does IU football vs MSU begin?
IU vs Michigan State begins at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
What channel is Indiana football vs Michigan State game today? How to watch Michigan State at IU football on TV
TV: Peacock with Dan Hicks (play-by-play), Jason Garrett (analyst) and Zora Stephenson (sideline)
Watch IU football vs Michigan State on Peacock
Where to stream, watch IU vs MSU football game today, Saturday, October 18, 2025? Streaming Indiana football vs Michigan State at Memorial Stadium
Streaming options include Peacock.
Catch Indiana vs Michigan State on Peacock
How to watch, stream the Indiana football vs Michigan State game today, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025? Streaming IU vs MSU at Memorial Stadium
Catch all the action between Indiana football and Michigan State from Bloomington on Peacock.
Watch Indiana and MSU live on Peacock
How to listen to Indiana vs Michigan State game today on radio, Saturday, Oct. 18? Streaming IU vs MSU football at Memorial Stadium
- Radio: Indiana Hoosier Sports Network with Don Fischer (play-by-play), Buck Suhr (analyst) and John Herrick
- Streaming: SiriusXM Channel 85
Indiana football vs Michigan State tickets
Ticket prices for the Indiana vs Michigan State game at Memorial Stadium start at $86 on StubHub.
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Who is favored between Indiana football and Michigan State? Predictions, picks, betting odds for IU vs MSU
Odds courtesy of BetMGM
- Indiana 40, Michigan State 20: “It’s difficult to imagine the Spartans struggling so much in their second season under Jonathan Smith as they did their first. Aidan Chiles will be a year older and wiser. But Indiana will also be at home. Depth becomes a factor after three difficult Big Ten games. If IU is healthy, Hoosiers win.” – IU reporter Zach Osterman
- Spread: Indiana by 27.5
- Over/under: 49.5
- Moneyline: Indiana -10000, Michigan State +1750
See what coach Darian DeVries learned from Curt Cignetti
Coach Darian DeVries shared what he’s learned from Curt Cignetti and the Indiana Hoosiers football team.
Big Ten football schedule for Week 8
- Fri., Oct. 17: Nebraska at Minnesota, 8 p.m., Fox
- Sat., Oct. 18: Washington at Michigan, noon, Fox
- Sat., Oct. 18: Purdue at Northwestern, 3 p.m., BTN
- Sat., Oct. 18: Ohio State at Wisconsin, 3:30 p.m., CBS
- Sat., Oct. 18: Michigan State at Indiana, 3:30 p.m., Peacock
- Sat., Oct. 18: Oregon at Rutgers, 6:30 p.m., BTN
- Sat., Oct. 18: Penn State at Iowa, 7 p.m., Peacock
- Sat., Oct. 18: Maryland at UCLA, 7 p.m., FS1
- Sat., Oct. 18: USC at Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m., NBC/Peacock
Want more Hoosiers coverage? Sign up for IndyStar’s Hoosiers newsletter. Listen to Mind Your Banners, our IU Athletics-centric podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the latest on IndyStar TV: Hoosiers.
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