‘Clash of the Giants’ – Hoosiers Embrace Big Ten Title Game Opportunity
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Aiden Fisher is clear -- the No. 2 Indiana Hoosiers (12-0) want no part of any David vs. Goliath mentality when they face No. 1 Ohio State (12-0) Saturday night at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium for the Big Ten championship.
It’s Goliath vs. Goliath.
“We’re not looking at this game as an underdog,” the senior linebacker says. “It’s two giants clashing. We’re both 12-0 for a reason. The better team will win on Saturday.”
This is the approach Curt Cignetti has stressed everywhere he’s coached, and it’s produced the first unbeaten and untied record in IU history. It’s won by blowout and nail-biter, most impressively at Iowa, Oregon and at Penn State, three of the most difficult road challenges in college football. It’s well prepared to face a defending national championship squad that has won 16-straight games.
“In every game we’ve been in this year,” Fisher says, “there was no doubt at all. We keep pounding away, keep pounding away, and at some point, we’re going to break free. We keep the foot on the gas at all times.”
The memory of last year’s regular-season loss at Ohio State, and then at Notre Dame in the playoffs, fuels Hoosier determination.
“Last year stuck in my head,” Fisher says. “We need to right some wrongs. We enjoy getting another opportunity to go at it.
“We all want to prove we belong here, that we’re the best at each of our positions on the best team. To be the best, you have to beat the best. This matchup is one we’ve been looking forward to for a long time.”
Center Pat Coogan was at Notre Dame last year. He, too, experienced a loss to Ohio State last year, coming in the national championship game. He understands what the Hoosiers will face.
“This will be my fourth time playing Ohio State in five years,” he says. “Each time has been a different kind of game, but they’ve all be intense, close, and incredibly physical.
“Our coaches are grinding to put a great plan in place. We have to follow and execute that plan.”
Offensive execution will come against a powerful Ohio State defense led by defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, the former head coach of the NFL’s Detroit Lions and defensive coordinator for the New England Patriots. The Buckeyes hold teams to just 7.8 points and 203 total yards a game, by far the best in college football.
“Coach Patricia lets his playmakers make plays,” Coogan says. “He gives his guys the ability to play confident and fly around. It’s a huge challenge we have to be ready for. We have to commit to the prep. It will be a long week, a lot of film, long hours, but that’s football.”
Quarterback Fernando Mendoza will be at the forefront in cracking that defense. He directs the Big Ten’s best offense, at 44.3 points and 483.8 yards per game. It has remarkable balance, throwing for 254.1 yards per game and running for 229.8 yards.
Mendoza says he began a deep dive into Ohio State last Saturday, a day earlier than normal because IU beat Purdue Friday night.
“It’s normally a Sunday through Friday system,” he says. “This is Saturday through Friday.”
As far as preparation, Mendoza says he watches different elements of the defense every day to “break it down in a way for me to understand what they’re doing, and then for me to implement it and apply it to what I see on the field, to see their keys.”
Mendoza says he grew up a New England Patriots fan and is well aware of Patricia’s ability to coach strong defenses.
“He has a fantastic football mind,” Mendoza says.
It helps to have outstanding players such as safety Caleb Downs and linebackers Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese.
“Ohio State has so many great players,” Mendoza says. “They disguise pre-snap then react to post snap. It’s a great bunch who play with each other and have a fantastic scheme to complement their skill.
“It will be a tough challenge. A lot of quarterbacks have struggled with them. There’s a reason for that.”
There’s also a reason Mendoza and the Hoosiers are 12-0.
“This is a great opportunity for the Indiana offense to play the Indiana brand of ball we want to play.”