Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza may have been the one hoisting the MVP trophy following the Hoosiers’ 13-10 win over Ohio State in the Big Ten Football Championship game on Saturday night at Lucas
Oil Stadium, but he’d be the first to tell you he couldn’t have done it without his receivers.
None shined brighter under the lights than Charlie Becker, this season’s breakout star for the cream and crimson.
Becker went the first five weeks of the season without recording more than two catches in a game. Indiana’s passing game leaned heavily on the star duo of Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr., with others seldom getting looks through the air.
When the Hoosiers were without Sarratt due to injury, starting against Maryland, Becker started to emerge. The first sign was his lone reception against the Terrapins, which went for 52 yards. Then, in a tight game against Ohio State, he balled out with seven receptions for 118 yards. Next week against Wisconsin? Five for 108 yards.
He’d firmly established himself as a reliable target for Mendoza. With Cooper Jr. seemingly dealing with an injury against Ohio State, Indiana called upon Becker to rise up again.
He delivered.
With the Hoosiers trailing in the third quarter and needing a third down conversion just to keep the drive alive, Mendoza delivered a strike to Becker who moved the chains and then some, setting up Indiana firmly in Ohio State territory.
Mendoza would finish that drive with a go-ahead touchdown pass to Sarratt to go up 13-10 on the game. Without Becker’s big catch, that’s not possible.
Then, with that lead in place and a chance to drain the clock late in the fourth quarter, Indiana found itself facing another third down in its own territory. A punt would set Ohio State up with a shot at a game-winning drive, which everyone on the sideline knew well.
As Curt Cignetti said postgame, he wasn’t about to give the Buckeyes that chance. The Hoosiers trusted Mendoza, who put more faith in Becker, who proceeded to do this:
Becker flipping the field set Indiana up to drain the clock and deprive Ohio State of its final timeout, with a short punt setting the Buckeyes up with a long field to go for any sort of score. The Hoosier defense delivered and the clock hit zero.
None of which would’ve been possible without Becker, who logged the same amount of receptions in Indiana’s first four games as he did on Saturday night against a Buckeyes secondary that simply couldn’t cover him.
He’s earned his flowers. Roses, in particular.
