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Instant recap: Indiana 56, UCLA 6

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IU football quarterback Fernando Mendoza.

Quick thoughts on IU football’s 56-6 win against UCLA at Memorial Stadium in front of 54,867 fans:

Three key plays in IU’s win

Fisher sets the tone with a pick-six touchdown

It didn’t take long for IU’s leader on defense, Aiden Fisher, to make his mark on Saturday afternoon.

On UCLA’s second play from scrimmage, Fisher intercepted Nico Iamaleava and returned the ball 25 yards for a touchdown.

The pick-six score put the Hoosiers up 7-0 less than a minute into the game and put the Memorial Stadium crowd into a frenzy. It was Fisher’s first touchdown of his career, spanning 44 games between IU and James Madison.

Sarratt’s 10th receiving touchdown of the season gives IU a three-score lead

The Hoosiers opened up a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Fernando Mendoza to Elijah Sarratt.

The connection between Mendoza and Sarratt capped off an 11-play, 75-yard drive.

It was Sarratt’s 10th receiving touchdown of the season, making him the fifth player in program history to catch at least 10 touchdowns in a season.

Isaiah Jones forced fumble sets up short field and IU capitalizes

With the Bruins trailing 21-0 and deep in their own territory, Isaiah Jones knocked the ball loose on a Jalen Berger run and Hosea Wheeler recovered it at the Bruin 29.

From there, it was a short field for the Hoosiers to pad the score further.

Three plays later, Roman Hemby carried the ball 13 yards for a touchdown to give the Hoosiers a four-score lead and put the game away for good.

Offensive standouts

While it wasn’t his most efficient performance of the season, Mendoza furthered his Heisman candidacy on Saturday afternoon.

The junior quarterback threw for 168 yards and three touchdowns and also rushed for a touchdown. Mendoza completed 15 of 22 passes and carried the ball five times for 45 yards.

E.J. Williams caught five passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns, a career afternoon for the senior wideout.

On the ground, Hemby carried 17 times for 81 yards and two touchdowns while Kaelon Black went for 70 yards on 10 carries. Both were pulled in the second half as Khobie Martin got reps down the stretch.

Defensive standouts

Fisher’s aforementioned interception was a key play early in the game, but the senior linebacker left the game with a knee injury later in the first quarter. IU coach Curt Cignetti told FOX sideline reporter Jenny Taft that Fisher’s removal from the game was precautionary.

It was another dominant effort defensively for the Hoosiers, who allowed the Bruins to rush for only 88 yards in the blowout victory. IU also had Iamaleava off balance. He completed just 13 passes for 113 yards and was picked off twice.

Defensive lineman Tyrique Tucker led the Hoosiers with 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Linebacker Rolijah Hardy had six tackles, including a sack and a tackle for loss.

Jones, who has been terrific all season, led IU with eight tackles and also had a forced fumble, a broken up pass and a quarterback hurry. Defensive back Devan Boykin finished with seven tackles and an interception and defensive back Louis Moore also had seven tackles.

What’s next for the Hoosiers

Indiana return to action next Saturday, November 1, at SECU Stadium in College Park against Maryland. The Terrapins are 4-3 overall and 1-3 in the Big Ten. Maryland is off this week. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

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