Indiana Keeps Defying Expectations, and Grant Wilson Is Its Latest Unlikely Hero

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The guy throwing that deep ball to star Charlie Becker for a fourth-quarter touchdown in the chilly November night air here Saturday? The pass that broke open yet another tense Indiana game, in a season that teeters on the brink but never goes over? The hero the Hoosiers didn’t know they needed, until the need became acute?

That’s Grant Wilson. He never should have been out there, occupying this vital spot in a Big Ten game with conference championship and College Football Playoff implications. Even at an improbable, out-of-nowhere powerhouse program, Wilson came from further out of nowhere than anyone else.

“It has been a long road,” the seventh-year collegian said after Indiana (9–1) knocked USC (7–3) out of playoff contention, 27–13. “God’s so good. Looking back, my first year at Fordham, being here right now, it’s a blessing. I never thought I’d be here, but it is good to have a shot again.”

This starting shot came two years and six weeks after his last one, at a far lower level.

Early in the third quarter of an unnoticed Old Dominion–Bowling Green game on Sept. 28, 2024, the Monarchs’ starting quarterback went down with his second injury in three weeks. Wilson wouldn’t play again that season.

It was Wilson’s fifth year. He’d spent the first three at FCS program Fordham, then two at ODU. It could have been the end of a star-crossed career, with not much to show for it—21 total games played.

But with extra eligibility being the coin of the realm in college football, Wilson transferred to Indiana to provide depth-chart insurance behind the Mendoza brothers, Fernando and Alberto. Fernando went on to win the Heisman Trophy and become the No. 1 NFL draft pick, Alberto was the backup, and Wilson threw a single pass during the Hoosiers’ 16–0 championship season.

He stayed on but was recruited over in the transfer portal, with the Hoosiers signing Josh Hoover from TCU. Alberto Mendoza transferred. Wilson hung around to back up Hoover. That’s how his career figured to end.

Wilson was always ready, though. Beloved by his teammates and coaches for his attitude and work ethic, nearly the entire Indiana team mobbed him after a 43-yard touchdown run in garbage time of the season opener against North Texas. But this was Hoover’s offense to run.

Hoosiers wide receiver Charlie Becker catches a pass for a touchdown while defended by Trojans cornerback Chasen Johnson. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

He did so through a 7–1 run, but the wheels were wobbling. Hoover was playing hurt—a shoulder injury, Wilson confirmed Saturday night—and his passing accuracy tanked. The Indiana offense ground to a near-halt, averaging just 16 points during a 3–1 stretch filled with close-game anxiety.

Facing desperation against Minnesota on Oct. 31, trailing 10–7 at halftime, coach Curt Cignetti benched Hoover for Wilson. He led the Hoosiers to a pair of field goals, but they trailed 16–13 with 19 seconds left.

Wilson did what Indiana quarterbacks do in times of crisis—throw it in the direction of Becker and expect a miracle. It was answered in the form of a twisting, 33-yard catch that set up one of the greatest clutch field goals in college football history, a 60-yard bomb by Paddy McAteer, to force overtime. Once there, Wilson threw a final time to Becker for the winning touchdown.

That sent the heart-attack Hoosiers into an open date at 8–1. With two weeks to try to fix his ailing offense, Cignetti made up his mind quickly about what to do at quarterback.

“I kind of made that decision the night that we beat Minnesota,” Cignetti said. “When I went home and I woke up, it was kind of confirmed based on how I felt … and supported by everybody in the organization.”

Even so, the path to Wilson’s first start since 2024 was hardly clear. He came down with the flu first.

“I was down really bad,” Wilson said. “I didn’t know when it was going to end, but I’m glad it ended.”

As for how? Wilson credits “a shot in my bottom.”

Although Cignetti made his decision to start Wilson early, he didn’t tell the quarterback until the week of the USC game. The news was delivered with Cig’s customary directness.

“He pulled me to the side while out there at practice and he goes, ‘You’re going to go with the ones,’ ” Wilson said. “And then turned around and walked away.”

Wilson was not exactly a savior Saturday, but he was the upgrade Indiana was searching for. The Hoosiers’ 27 points were their most since Oct. 3 against Rutgers. Wilson’s 305 passing yards were Indiana’s most in 364 days, since Mendoza threw for exactly that amount against Wisconsin. His 63% accuracy was also the Hoosiers’ best mark since the Rutgers game.

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Wilson completed passes of 40-plus yards to three different receivers: 42 to Becker, 47 to Shazz Preston and 65 to Nick Marsh. For the first time in weeks, the Indiana passing game was set free.

“We’ve been kind of playing in a tent, so to speak, the last two weeks,” Cignetti said. “Conservative. We all hated it.”

Getting out of the tent with a backup QB whose last start was in the Sun Belt Conference fits the rags-to-riches profile of Indiana football during its absurd, 36–3 Cignetti era. It also fit that several other players rose up from supporting roles to help make this victory happen.

Running back Khobie Martin got injured in the first few plays of the season opener. He didn’t play again until the Minnesota game, logging three carries for seven yards. But with leading rusher Turbo Richard out, Martin was called upon to spell Lee Beebe Jr. against USC and responded with 12 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown.

Second-leading tackler Rolijah Hardy also was out against the Trojans. Up stepped freshman Jacob Savage to make a career-high 13 tackles, along with a pass breakup and a quarterback pressure.

Savage was part of a defense that was, as usual, at its best in the red zone. The Hoosiers came into the game third nationally in lowest touchdown percentage allowed in the red zone, at 35%. That statistic will improve after this game, with USC scoring only one TD in five red zone trips. With the score tied at 13, Indiana held the Trojans at the 10-yard line and they missed a field goal. Then on their next possession, linebacker Isaiah Jones flowed into the path of a Jayden Maiava slant pass at the goal line for a massive fourth-quarter interception.

“Give us an inch,” Jones said. “We’ll defend it.”

USC tight end Mark Bowman is tackled by Indiana defensive back Quan Sanks. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

That has been the general theme of this Indiana season. Unlike last year, when the Hoosiers were dominant most of the year, nearly every game has come down to narrow margins. They’re a play away from being undefeated (Marsh catching a last-minute pass inches out of bounds against Ohio State) and about five plays from being 6–4.

Those close calls likely played a part in Indiana shockingly dropping five spots in the CFP rankings Tuesday without even playing, plummeting from an overrated No. 4 to an underrated No. 9. While it’s true that most of the opponents Indiana had beaten lost, and other teams enjoyed big victories, the disrespect for the reigning champs seemed clear in Bloomington.

“This team’s continuously disrespected, and we’ve been like that for the last two years,” Jones said. “We know that we’re going to go out every single Saturday and if you keep winning, they can’t keep moving you back.”

After the ranking drop, Cignetti dialed back to his trash-talker identity of 2024.

“Bad losses don’t count anymore?” he posted on Thursday, with a succession of crying-laughing emojis. “Are first downs still 10 yards?”

Bad losses don't count anymore? 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Are first downs still 10 yards?🤡🤡🤡
— Curt Cignetti (@CCignettiIU) November 12, 2026

When asked his thoughts on where Indiana might rank when the next Top 25 comes out Tuesday, Cignetti curbed his acidic tongue.

“It really doesn’t matter who’s where Tuesday,” he said. “It’s all going to play out on the field. There’s a lot of football left.”

Just two regular-season games left for Indiana, at Washington and home against Purdue. Win both, and the Hoosiers will advance to the Big Ten championship game as a lock to make their third straight CFP with a third different quarterback.

It was figured to be Hoover. Instead, it’s a seventh-year guy who hadn’t started a game in two years. Wilson has an incomprehensible opportunity in his hands, and he’s made the most of it so far.

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