Indiana football is Big Ten champions: 'Greatest college football story ever'

The Indiana football team is outright Big Ten champions for the first time since 1945 and will be No. 1 in Sunday's College Football Playoff Standings, earning a Rose Bowl berth on Jan. 1.

Fernando Mendoza effectively clinched the victory with a 33-yard pass to Charlie Becker on third-and-6, ensuring Ohio State would need a miraculous play with 18 seconds left to have a chance and it didn't happen.

The sports world reacts to one of the greatest college football stories in history:

TRENDING: Indiana superstar quarterback Fernando Mendoza's post-game interview has gone viral across social media.

One of the all-time great interviews you will ever see.

😭😭😭
pic.twitter.com/0wSDDOcCYT— MLFootball (@MLFootball) December 7, 2025

OUR STATE. OUR TITLE. pic.twitter.com/Byk2kHaZhw— Indiana Football (@IndianaFootball) December 7, 2025

Undefeated Indiana wins the Big Ten championship and will be the No. 1 seed for the College Football Playoff. Its next game will be the Rose Bowl. This is the greatest college football story ever.— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) December 7, 2025

Mayhem for Indiana fans. pic.twitter.com/EfUSrMQeIF— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) December 7, 2025

Unbelievable. I could cry. So proud of the entire team, staff, fans, haven’t won this since 1945, no words!!! HOO HOO HOO HOOSIERS!!!!!— Kalen Jackson (@KalenIJackson) December 7, 2025

Curt. Effing Cignetti.

Has taken Indiana football from the absolute bottom to No. 1.— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) December 7, 2025

Indiana is one of the most jaw-dropping college football stories of my lifetime. Over and over and over the past 15 months, I ask myself: How the heck did they do this? Still can’t believe it.— Dirk Chatelain (@dirkchatelain) December 7, 2025

Indiana had the all time lowest winning percentage in cfb history when Curt Cignetti arrived. When he got on the mic at Assembly Hall and started saying everyone in the B1G sucked, I thought they’d hired a crazy man.

Nope.

THIS is crazy. Incredible turnaround. Salute Hoosiers— Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) December 7, 2025

CURT CIGNETTI AND INDIANA HAVE WON THE BIG TEN

DOWN GOES OHIO STATE pic.twitter.com/ZvOYsa70Ry— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) December 7, 2025

Told my 9 year old that Indiana football might be the single coolest American sports story in his lifetime.— Curry Hicks Sage (@CurryHicksSage) December 7, 2025

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana football is Big Ten champions: 'Greatest college football story ever'