When IU fans knew the Hoosiers could win it all
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Why not, indeed. Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
They did it! Indiana University has a national football title.
Why it matters: The improbable became the possible throughout the season as the Hoosiers knocked off every opponent they faced, and each win created more and more believers that this team could really go all the way.
Zoom in: Here are the moments when IU fans told us they knew it was going to happen.
"Ohio State," said Dan Herron, Arika's dad.
"When we played the Ducks," State Sen. Shelli Yoder told Axios. The Democrat from Bloomington said that's when she knew something was different, something was "really special."
It was the same for Axios Indy Reader Aaron A., who told us, "when IU beat Oregon on the road."
For Ohio State fan Scott M., it was also when the Hoosiers beat his Buckeyes in the Big Ten championship.
- "I knew the potential was there, but this win iced it for me," he said, adding that he was happily cheering for the Hoosiers last night.
"The Penn State game. That's when I knew (Fernando) Mendoza was the best QB in the nation. That kid has so much poise," said Fishers resident and lifelong Hoosiers fan Bill Singleton. "I looked at my wife right then and said, 'We were gonna play for the title.'"
Ken Kaczmarek, an Indiana Football Hall of Famer who played on IU's 1968 Rose Bowl team, said he was all-in on IU going the distance after two impressive performances away from home.
- "I thought the Iowa game was a key game against a very good football team. We handled them very well and beat them at their own game," he said. "And then the Oregon game was the second critical one. We beat two very, very good teams on the road. So I knew this team was for real."