#2 Indiana University Football Wins at Penn State for the First Time Thanks to a Late Touchdown Pass The #2 Indiana Hoosiers escaped with a 27-24 win over the Penn State Nittany Lions Saturday Afternoon on Westshore Field at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania as Indiana wins for the first time at Penn State now at 1-13 since 1993. It is just the third time in the series that the Hoosiers have beaten the Nittany Lions and end a three-game losing streak to the Nittany Lions with the series now 25-3 all time as Indiana won in Bloomington in 2013 and 2020. Indiana is now 10-0 for the second straight year and the only two times in program history that Indiana has won 10 or more games in a season. The Hoosiers are 7-0 in the Big Ten for the second year in a row and will host Wisconsin Next Saturday at Noon in the home regular season finale before traveling to Purdue in the season finale on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
Fernando Mendoza finished 19-30 for 218 yards passing 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Mendoza threw the game winning touchdown pass with 36 seconds left when he found Omar Cooper Jr who made a magical catch in the back of the endzone keeping his foot in bounds to give the Hoosiers the lead and the win. Cooper Jr finished with 6 catches for 32 yards as the Hoosiers were without Elijah Sarratt due to a hamstring injury. Charlie Becker, who replaced Sarratt, had 7 catches for 118 yards. Kaelon Black and Mendoza each had a rushing touchdown as the Hoosiers finished with 108 yards rushing with 4 different ball carriers. Nico Radicic kicked two field goals as the Hoosiers are 21-2 under Curt Cignetti and this is the closet margin of victory the Hoosiers have had since Cignetti arrived in Bloomington with Indiana beating Michigan in 2024 and Iowa this season both by five points as the Hoosiers are 15-1 in the Big Ten.
Ethan Grunkemeyer finished 22-31 for 219 yards passing with a touchdown and a interception. Nicholas Singleton had 10 carries for 71 yards and 2 touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass with 3 receptions for 22 yards. Penn State outgained Indiana 336-326 as Penn State finished with 219 passing yards to 218 for Indiana and the Nittany Lions had 117 rushing yards to 108 Yards for the Hoosiers. The game was scoreless until 1:18 left in the first quarter when Mendoza took off and ran 18 yards for the touchdown to give Indiana the 7-0 lead. Penn State responded with a 2-yard touchdown run from Singelton to tie the game 7-7 with 11:08 left in the second quarter. Nico Radicic hit a 28-yard field goal as the Hoosiers led 10-7 with 2:30 left in the second quarter as Kaelon Black scored on a one-yard run with 38 seconds left as the Hoosiers went to the locker room leading 17-7.
In the third quarter Grunkemeyer was picked off by Aiden Fisher as the Hoosiers were able to capitalize as Nico Radicic hit a 31-yard field goal with 8:46 left in the third quarter to make it 20-7. Penn State started the comeback when Ryan Barker hit a 36-yard field goal with 3:36 left in the third quarter to make it 20-10 Indiana. Penn State scored two Nicholas Singleton touchdowns with a 1-yard touchdown run with 11:36 left in the fourth quarter. Grunkemeyer threw a 19-yard pass to Singelton with 6:27 left in the fourth quarter to give the Nittany Lions a 24-20 lead with 6:27 left in the game. Mendoza was picked off by King Mack in the fourth quarter, but the Hoosiers were able to drive the ball with 1:51 left running 10 plays for 80 yards in 1:15 as Mendoza made the clutch pass and Cooper Jr made the clutch catch as the Hoosiers are still unbeaten and continue to make history. Indiana has two more regular season games left and are still in the driver’s seat for the Big Ten Championship. Penn State is 3-6 and 0-6 in the Big Ten but show a lot of poise and fight under interim head coach Terry Smith. Every team goes through adversity and no question both these teams have had their share of it. At the end of the game Indiana overcame adversity and refused to lose keeping the eyes on the prize.
Bloomington South Walks it off to win the Class 5A Sectional Football Championship over Bloomington North Sam Stollberg kicked an 18-yard field goal with no time left to give the Bloomington South Panthers a 31-28 win over the Bloomington North Cougars to win the Class 5A Sectional 15 Title Friday Night at Fred Huff Memorial Field on the Southside of Bloomington. The Panthers were down 21-7 at halftime and 28-14 with 11:55 left to play in the fourth quarter when they scored 17 points in the last 7:21 of the ball game to win their 5th straight Sectional Title and 20th in program history. Gabe Johnson wins his 5th sectional title in his 6th year as head coach of Bloomington South and his 6th overall after he led Triton Central to the Class 2A Sectional Championship in 2011. Johnson is 50-17 at Bloomington South and 64-27 in 8 seasons overall after 2 years at Triton Central from 2011-12 with 7 winning seasons along with 4-4 in 2020 which was his first season at Bloomington South.
The Panthers are 10-1 on the season and will host Floyd Central next Friday Night for the Regional Championship. Floyd Central will come to Bloomington with a 10-1 record after beating Evansville North 15-10 at home to win its first Sectional Title since 2019 and 4th in program history. This will be the first meeting between the two teams since the 2019 Class 5A Regional Championship when the Panthers beat the Highlanders 40-14 at Bloomington South which was the first time the two schools met in the postseason as the two teams have not face off in the Regular Season dating back to 1994. For Bloomington North first year Head Coach Brett Cooper ends with a 7-4 record as the Cougars started off 1-3 on the season before winning six in a row only to fall to their city rivals for the second time this season after a 36-7 defeat on September 12 at Bloomington South. The Cougars were looking for its third Sectional Title in Program History and first since 2013. Bloomington South leads the all-time series 52-16 dating back to 1972 and 11-2 in Sectional meetings. This was the fourth time since 2021 that the two programs have meet for the Sectional Title with the Panthers winning all four meetings. Bloomington North beat Bloomington South for the Sectional Title in 2013 and since that meeting the Panthers have owned the Cougars 16-3 along with a 7-0 record in the sectionals. Bloomington North beat Bloomington South in the regular season in 2019, 2023 and 2024.
Bloomington North controlled the first half as Luke Freel picked off Duncan Combs and returned to the end zone to give the Cougars a 7-0 lead with 9:42 left in the first quarter. The Panthers missed a 28-yard field goal with 5:13 left in the opening period as Bloomington North pitched the first quarter shut out. The Cougars made it 14-0 with 10:14 left in the second quarter when John Bargen found Luke Freel on the 13-yard slant. The Panthers responded with 6:23 left in the second quarter when Duncan Combs found Jalen Williams on a 9-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-7. The Cougars answered back when John Bargen found Blake Davis for a 47-yard strike to make it 21-7 Cougars with 5:03 left in the second quarter. Bloomington North Quarterback John Bargen completed 10 of his 13 passes in the first half for 122 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Panthers had 120 yards rushing on 23 carries.
In the third quarter Combs found Johnathan Winstead with 7-yard pass on a fourth and goal from the 7-yard line to make 21-14 Cougars with 5:05 left in the third quarter. John Bargen threw his third touchdown pass of the night with a 1-yard pass to Nate Walker to make 28-14 with 11:55 left in the fourth quarter. The Panthers started the comeback with 7:21 left when Combs found Williams for the second time on a third down jump ball in the end zone to make it 28-21. Braylen Townsend tied the game 28-28 with 3:07 left with a one-yard score. The Panthers were at the one-yard line with 2 seconds left when they brought in Sam Stollberg to kick the field goal. The Cougars called a time out to ice Stollberg and then jumped offside to make him re kick and put it through the middle of the uprights to complete the comeback and give the Panthers another sectional title.
Duncan Combs completed 18 of his 27 passes for 183 yards along with three touchdowns and 1 interception as the Panthers racked up 402 yards of offense. Combs completed his last 8 passes for 68 yards. John Bargen who moved to Bloomington in the offseason from Illinois after his dad joined the Indiana University Men’s Basketball Coaching Staff was 16-25 for 188 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Cougars finished with 249 yards of offense and struggled running the ball with just 61 yards on 18 carries. This was another classic battle between the city schools that are separated by 4.5 miles. Bloomington North won both of its Sectional Titles in 2010 and 2013 and since 2014 Bloomington South has won 11 of 12 sectional titles all coming in Class 5A with the only exception being 2020. The Panthers will be looking for its third consecutive Regional Title and their sixth since 2014.
Indiana University Men’s Basketball Battles Marquette in the Windy City The Indiana Hoosiers take on the Marquette Golden Eagles in the Waterkeeper Alliance Invitational this afternoon at 1 PM at the United Center in Chicago with the game on ESPN. This will be the 11th all-time meeting between the two programs with Indiana leading the series 8-2. Indiana beat Marquette 96-73 on November 14, 2018, in Bloomington. The Hoosiers have won all three meetings in Bloomington and 2-1 in Milwaukee as Golden Eagles beat the Hoosiers 21-20 on December 20, 1932. This will be the fourth meeting on a neutral court and the first in Chicago. Indiana beat Marquette 75-69 in the NCAA Mideast Regional First Round in Nashville, Tennessee on March 15, 1973, 65-56 on March 20th, 1976, in Baton Rouge Louisiana in the NCAA Mideast Regional Final and Marquette beat Indiana 50-49 in the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage on November 23, 2001.
The Hoosiers pounded Alabama A&M 98-51 on Wednesday Night to give Darian DeVries his first win as Indiana University Men’s Basketball Coach. The 48-point margin of victory was the largest in a debut for an Indiana University Men’s Basketball Coach. It was a special night for DeVries as he watched his son Tucker score his 2,000th Career point as he scored 18 points and 11 rebounds in his Hoosier debut and is the only active player in Division I who is a member of the 2,000-point club. Tucker has played for his dad his entire college career starting at Drake from 2021-24 starting 97 of 104 games scoring 1,847 points and played 8 games at West Virginia during the 2024-25 season scoring 119 points and starting every game before injury cut his season short. Now in Bloomington he is the leader on this new look Hoosier squad as he drilled four three pointers and dished four assists, he is one of 10 Transfers on a team that returned no points from a season ago.
Five Hoosiers scored in double figures on Wednesday Night led by Reed Bailey with 21 points, Lamar Wilkerson scored 19 points along with 14 points from Tayton Conerway who are going to be the Hoosiers 1-2 punch in the backcourt. Sam Alexis who was the second player off the bench provides a spark with 17 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks and will be the Hoosiers sixth man as the season continues. Indiana was a perfect 16-16 from the free throw line which is the 7th time in the last 30 seasons that the Hoosiers have stepped to the free throw line with at least 10 attempts and not miss a single free throw in a game. This new look offense produced 32 points the paint and 24 three-point attempts out of 58 field goal attempts. Indiana had 13 dunks, 10 made triples and dished out 23 assists on 36 made field goals. The Hoosiers share the ball, make the extra pass, always moving on offense and play with defensive intensity that makes Hoosier Nation feel refreshed after a pro style type of offense under Mike Woodson the last four seasons.
Marquette is 2-0 on the season with home wins over UAlbany 80-53 and Southern 100-82. Guard Chase Ross is averaging a team leading 19 points and 5.5 assists per game. The 6-5 Senior from Dallas scored 23 points against Southern along with 6 rebounds and 6 assists and scored 15 points, 5 assists, 5 steals and 4 rebounds against Liberty. Zaide Lowery averages 12.5 points per game. Ben Gold leads the team with 8.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game and Nigel James Jr leads the team with 3 steals per game. The Golden Eagles averaged 90 points, shooting 46% from the field, 31% from three-point range and 73% from the free throw line. The Golden Eagles have a 17 Player Roster that includes 6-1 Senior Guard Jonah Lucas from West Lafayette, Indiana who played for the Harrison Raiders scoring 1,052 points and three time all North-Central Conference selection under Head Coach Mark Reinhart. The Golden Eagles Represent Indiana, Wisconsin, Virginia, California, New York, Missouri, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Texas, Maryland and New Zealand. There are 4 Seniors, 3 Juniors, 4 Sophomores and 6 Freshmen.
Shaka Smart is 100-41 in his fifth season at Marquette and has taken Marquette to the NCAA Tournament every season since arriving in Milwaukee. The 48-Year-Old Wisconsin Native is 372-183 in 17 seasons overall. Smart coached at Virginia Commonwealth University from 2009-15 with 163-56 including a trip to the Final Four in 2011 and College Basketball Invitational Championship in 2010. Smart went to the University of Texas from 2015-21 with a 109-56 record and 3 NCAA Tournament Appearances and 2019 NIT Champions. Smart has made 12 trips to the NCAA Tournament and 2 trips to other postseason tournaments and has only had one losing season when he was 11-22 at Texas during the 2016-17 season and the Longhorns went 19-12 during the 2019-20 season when the Postseason was canceled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. This will be a good test for both teams that are well coached. Ben Gold is 6-11 and Reed Bailey is 6-11 and Indiana is a team that is undersized in the middle with Alexis 6-9 will be a good battle of how the handle the size matchups and how does Marquette handle Hoosiers be able to stretch the floor with DeVries and Bailey along with the guard play of Wilkerson and Conerway. This should be a high scoring game, and the keys will be who can hit outside shots, get defensive stops and get to the free throw line. If Indiana is able to win this game the new look Hoosiers could be ranked and the same could be said for Marquette as the battle of two teams who are looking for a quality win in this young season.
Indiana University Men’s Soccer Blasts Rutgers 5-0 but Misses the Big Ten Tournament Indiana men’s soccer (12-5-1, 5-5-0 B1G) closed its regular season with a 5-0 victory over Rutgers Friday night on Jerry Yeagley Field. Freshman Colton Swan had a brace, and senior Palmer Ault added a goal and two assists. IU came into the night needing a victory and a UCLA tie or draw at Washington to clinch the fourth and final spot in the Big Ten Tournament. The Hoosiers were on track to earn the bid until the 63rd minute of the west coast match, when Washington’s Charlie Kosakoff received a second yellow card while protecting a 2-1 lead. UCLA responded with three goals in the final 27 minutes to steal the last remaining tournament bid.
Indiana currently sits No. 8 in the national RPI rankings, which bodes well for its NCAA Tournament résumé. IU will hear its name called during the NCAA Selection Show on Monday, November 17. Ault finishes the regular season with 16 goals and 10 assists, becoming the first Hoosier to collect double-digit goals and assists since Pat Noonan (16 goals, 12 assists) in 2001. In conference play alone, he led the Big Ten in total goal contributions (15), points (22), tied for the lead in assists (8) and finished No. 2 in goals (7). The senior will look forward to adding to his MAC Hermann Trophy résumé come the NCAA Tournament.
In the 5th minute Junior forward Jacopo Fedrizzi found Ault at the top of the box, and the senior flicked it to Swan making a run into the 18. Swan brought it down with his chest and volleyed a laser to the top corner to give the Hoosiers a 1-0 lead. In the 17th minute Fedrizzi’s corner swung right to the head of Swan, who punched it past the helpless keeper as the Hoosiers lead 2-0 going into the locker room. In the Second half Sophomore midfielder Charlie Heuer found Ault with an overhead ball, and Ault beat the final defender to it before placing a subtle chip past the keeper as the Hoosiers lead 3-0 after 51 minutes. Three Minutes later Heuer used all his strength to push a Rutgers defender off the ball and put it into the path of junior forward Clay Murador, who sped past the last man and finished low to the far post for a 4-0 Hoosier lead. Indiana scored its fifth goal in the 59th minute when an Ault corner found senior midfielder Cristiano Bruletti beyond the back post, and Bruletti headed it back across goal to redshirt junior defender Breckin Minzey who nodded it in.
Indiana will miss out on the Big Ten Tournament for the first time in program history. IU was the only program which never failed to qualify for the conference tournament during the eight-team format. IU improved its season attendance to 34,680, setting the Bill Armstrong Stadium single-season record. The previous best mark of 33,973 was set in 2023 over 14 matches. Hoosier Army has bested that through 11 home matches this year. After scoring twice from corner kicks Friday night, IU has scored five of its last 11 goals from restarts. In Big Ten play, IU’s attack tied for the league lead in goals (25), while setting the top marks for shots (170), shots on target (170) and corner kicks won (71).
Indiana improved to 14-4-3 in the all-time series with Rutgers, earning its third consecutive victory over the Scarlet Knights. Ault’s 10 assists are the most by a Hoosier since Trevor Swartz’s 16 in 2018. His 42 points are the most by a Big Ten player since Penn State’s Corey Hertzog collected 46 in 2010. Ault’s performance marks the eighth time this season he has recorded multiple goal contributions and the fifth time he has recorded three or more goal contributions. Ault still has not played consecutive matches without producing a goal or assist. In seven matches over the last month, Ault has produced eight goals and seven assists, totaling 23 points in that stretch. Ault now has 38 goals, 22 assists and 96 points in his career. Heuer has four assists on the season, doubling his freshman total. Three of his assists have contributed to Palmer Ault scores. Murador put his name on the scoresheet for the first time since Sept. 26, the 4-2 victory over UCLA. Fedrizzi tallied his first-career multi-assist performance. Indiana will make its 50th and 39th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament later this month.
Indiana University Volleyball takes down Iowa in a Five Set Battle at Wilkinson Hall Everything is a battle in the Big Ten. Come November, everything is on the line. For the first time since the opening night of the season, the Indiana volleyball team (19-4, 10-3) had to leg out a five-set match. IU pulled ahead early in the final frame and held on for a 3-2 (25-18, 18-25, 25-23, 21-25, 15-10) victory over Iowa on Friday evening at Wilkinson Hall. IU’s seniors played a pivotal part in the thrilling victory in Bloomington. Senior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles played one of her best matches of the season. She finished just shy of her career high with 24 kills at a .288 attacking clip. She recorded her fourth double-double of the season by adding 11 digs. In the fifth set alone, the Spaniard had six kills as she powered the Hoosiers to the win.
Iowa’s defensive efforts raised the bar across the bar as the two teams battled for over two hours. Four different Hoosiers had at least 10 digs, the most in a match this season. Graduate student outside hitter Jessica Smith matched her career high with 13 digs. Senior middle blocker Madi Sell led the way with seven blocks. When IU needed it the most, it’s fantastic offense roared back to life. The Hoosiers hit .400 in the final set and .231 on the match. Freshman setter Teodora Kričković dished out a career-high 53 assists. She paired that with 11 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. Freshman middle blocker Victoria Gray had a big kill out of a timeout, part of seven on the night, to force match point.
As she has been all season, freshman outside hitter Jaidyn Jager remained cool under pressure. She had a fantastic all-around evening with 14 kills, 7 digs, five blocks (tied career high), three aces and two assists. She passed 28 balls with just one reception error. She was one of two players on IU’s team (Alonso-Corcelles) with 20 points. With the win, IU moves to 19-4 on the season and 10-3 in the Big Ten. It’s the seventh time in program history that IU has won at least 10 Big Ten games in a season. With seven games to play, the Hoosiers are in a tie for third in the conference and head to Madison today to face their fellow third-place counterpart, Wisconsin.
The Indianapolis Colts face the Atlanta Falcons in Berlin Germany The NFL is heading back overseas, this time to Berlin, Germany. The Atlanta Falcons will play the Indianapolis Colts at 9:30 a.m. Indianapolis Time this morning which is 3:30 PM Berlin Time at Olympic Stadium. The game will air exclusively on NFL Network, with Adam Amin as the play-by-play announcer, Kurt Warner as the game analyst, and Stacey Dales and Kristina Pink as the sideline reporters.
The Falcons-Colts matchup is the sixth international game of the NFL season. It is the first one to be played in Berlin. The NFL has played one game in São Paulo, one in Dublin, and three in London. The NFL’s final international game of the season is next week, when the Washington Commanders take on the Miami Dolphins in Madrid.
The Falcons come into this matchup on a three-game losing streak. After a triumphant win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 5, the team has struggled. In the team’s recent skid, they have lost to the San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins, and New England Patriots. The Falcons looked like they scored the game-tying touchdown late, but kicker Parker Romo missed the extra point, and they lost 24-23. Romo was waived this week. Michael Penix Jr. and the Falcons will hope to stop their skid against the AFC South-leading Indianapolis Colts. Penix has completed 60.8% of his passes for 1,630 yards with eight touchdowns and three interceptions in seven games. Running back Bijan Robinson is having another strong season, as he has 595 rushing yards with two touchdowns in eight games.
The Colts, led by a resurgent Daniel Jones, have been one of the biggest surprises in the NFL this season. Jones, after struggling for most of six seasons with the New York Giants, has taken his game to a new level this year. The 28-year-old currently leads the NFL in passing yards with 2,404. Jones has completed 69.6% of his passes and thrown 14 touchdowns with six interceptions, while running for 90 yards and five touchdowns. Colts running back Jonathan Taylor is also in the midst of an outstanding season. He leads the NFL in rushing yards (895), rushing touchdowns (12), and yards per attempt (5.7). The Colts’ last game was a 27-20 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but they had a four-game winning streak before the loss.
