Josh Hoover gets his Fernando Mendoza moment as Indiana escapes Nebraska’s upset bid

When a team finishes a season 16-0 and wins the national title, it's easy to forget about the close calls along the way, but they were there for Indiana last season. The Hoosiers found themselves in close contests on the road against Iowa, Oregon and Penn State during the regular season. In the national title game, they were up against it against Miami.

The common thread across all four games was the ability to overcome adversity and make the plays necessary to win. The needle to that thread was Fernando Mendoza. It's why he won the Heisman Trophy, and it's why he went first overall in the NFL Draft.

All offseason, the biggest question about Indiana's encore was how well Josh Hoover could fill Mendoza's shoes. On Saturday, in Lincoln, Nebraska, against a team and 90,000 Nebraska fans desperate for their moment in the sun and a return to relevance, Josh Hoover had his Mendoza Moment.

It was not a pretty performance overall. In fact, statistically, it was easily Hoover's worst performance since coming to Indiana. Hoover completed only 12 of his 22 passes in Indiana's 20-17 win, as he had to deal with a strong wind blowing through Memorial…

Original source: https://www.cbssports.com/