It was a tale of two halves for the Wisconsin Badgers in Bloomington against the Indiana Hoosiers. The Badgers held a high-powered Indiana offense to 10 points in the first half while getting sacks on Fernando
Mendoza.
Unfortunately, the momentum the Badgers had, being down only 10-7, failed to carry over after halftime. Wisconsin was held to a mere 23 yards in the second half on offense, as the second-ranked Hoosiers picked apart a leaky Badger secondary to win 31-7.
The Badgers needed a consistent downfield passing game to upset Indiana. They did not get that on Saturday. Quarterback Carter Smith, who threw his first touchdown pass of the season, was held to only 98 passing yards on 9-of-15 completed passes. That will not get it done against one of the top teams in the Big Ten.
Here are three standouts from Wisconsin’s loss at No. 2 Indiana in Week 12.
Fernando Mendoza
I see no reason why Mendoza should not be at the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York next month. The Cal transfer quarterback completed an efficient 22-of-24 passes for 299 yards and four touchdowns in Indiana’s win on Saturday.
Despite taking five sacks on the day, Mendoza was poised in the pocket and delivered dimes across the field to pace the Hoosier offense. Mendoza’s final touchdown pass of the game to Omar Cooper Jr. set a new single-season program record.
Charlie Becker
With Elijah Sarratt out again for Indiana, Becker was once again called upon for the Hoosiers. We knew Becker was a solid wide receiver for the Hoosiers after his last game against Penn State, where he caught seven passes for 118 yards and a touchdown in a raucous Beaver Stadium crowd.
Against Wisconsin, Becker surpassed the 100-yard mark again with five catches for 108 yards, including the game’s first touchdown.
After the game, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti described Becker as “Like Lou Gehrig stepped in for Wally Pipp,
Becker’s making big plays.” No doubt, the Hoosiers have a solid weapon at the wide receiver spot with Charlie
Becker.
Darryl Peterson
One of the keys for Wisconsin to upset Indiana was to get to Mendoza, and the Badgers were successful in that aspect. I thought Darryl Peterson had his best game in a Badger uniform on Saturday. The veteran linebacker registered his first career multi-sack game (2.5 sacks) and finished with six total tackles.
He was a menace on the football field for Wisconsin, and his performance was critical in helping the Badgers stay with Indiana in the first half.
