BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WDRB) – With all due respect to Michigan State, Indiana’s real opponent on Homecoming wasn’t the Spartans. It was the spotlight. It was success, and all the slippery stuff that comes with it. Satisfaction. Self-congratulation.
It was the undefeated record, the No. 3 national ranking, the $11.6 million man on the sideline, the playoff whispers, the pats on the back.
The Spartans, they were just the other guys out there in matching helmets.
For all the temptations to get distracted by the sugar rush of hype, Indiana handled it like a team that plans to stick around. No champagne hangover. No victory lap laziness. Just a five-touchdown clinic and the quiet, menacing hum of a machine that expects more in a 38-13 victory.
"Human nature after winning against Oregon is to be happy and relaxed, support staff, coaches, players, trainers," Curt Cignetti said after the win. "My job is to make sure they've got the right mindset ready to play. It's not always fun, but you've got to do what you've got to do. ... You can't be a real nice guy when you have a job like mine. Sometimes you know when they're going to be ready to play, and then sometimes you know the entire organization -- what did Mike Krzyzewski say when he retired? He said, toughest opponent he's ever faced was human nature."
It didn't take Indiana long to beat that one back on Saturday, though Cignetti said he did have a pointed talk with his whole team and staff after Thursday's practice, making clear what he expected.
"I sent them a good message," Cignetti said. "It was flipping our way on Friday."
Michigan State led 3-0 and again at 10-7 midway through the second quarter. Then Indiana got itself going, and didn’t let up.
A 24-yard dart from Fernando Mendoza to Elijah Sarratt. A 29-yard burst from Kaelon Black. A 48-yard strike to Omar Cooper Jr. A 27-yarder, again to Sarratt. Five drives. Five touchdowns. One lightning delay. Zero letdowns.
Indiana coach Curt Cignetti on the sideline during the Hoosiers win over Michigan State on Oct. 18, 2025.
Even the skies tried to cool Indiana off, with a 30-minute weather delay at halftime. They failed, too.
Cignetti said his staff had experience with that kind of delay in his last season at James Madison.
"I thought we handled it really well, and the staff had experience with it at Virginia when I was at JMU my last year," Cignetti said. "We were down 10 with eight minutes to go and that happened. We ended up utilizing it, I thought, really well and came back and won the game."
The Hoosiers outgained the Spartans 465 yards to 308. Mendoza completed 24 of 28 passes for 332 yards and four touchdowns — or, as it’s known in Bloomington these days, “business as usual.” Indiana's last pass came with 12:03 left in the game. Cooper had 8 catches for 115 yards. Sarratt caught two touchdown passes. Indiana didn’t punt.
Yes, the defense was a tick sluggish early. But what did you expect? This is a group of college kids doing things no one at Indiana has done before. After a program-defining win over Oregon, a little emotional exhale might’ve been inevitable.
The trick is exhaling without collapsing. And Indiana just inhaled again — like a team that’s still breathing rare air and getting used to the altitude.
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