Omar Cooper Jr. catch: Inside the amazing game-winning grab that saved Indiana’s perfect season

Indiana went into Penn State with an undefeated 9-0 record. The Hoosiers were the dense favorites against a Penn State squad that was 0-5 successful the Big Ten.

Penn State was fueled by an aggravated location assemblage and made definite that it kept the crippled close. The Nittany Lions had a four-point pb astatine the two-minute timeout. Indiana's Fernando Mendoza was staring down a bequest drive. He took a sack connected the archetypal play of the drive, but past led Indiana down the field, giving anticipation to distant fans that they would propulsion disconnected the precocious win.

Indiana was connected the seven-yard enactment and facing 3rd and extremity with 36 seconds near successful the game. Mendoza was pressured and threw a dart to the extremity zone, and wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. leapt into the aerial to marque the catch. They reviewed whether his feet were successful bounds, and it showed that the wideout narrowly kept his toes successful to implicit the item reel catch. 

Here is much connected Cooper's unthinkable play.

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Omar Cooper Jr's game-winning catch

Cooper started connected the close broadside of the tract adjacent the hash. He chopped near and ran a station route. Mendoza was pressured and it looked similar helium was trying to springiness his subordinate a changeable astatine the ball, but besides threw it precocious to debar an interception. Cooper Jr. soared done the aerial and caught the ball. He past looked down mid-air and saw wherever helium was, making definite to scope his toes back. Just an unthinkable play.

WHAT. A. CATCH. pic.twitter.com/FIbWzjq2kX

Omar Cooper stats

2025 season

• 9 games
• 52 receptions
• 701 yards
• 9 touchdowns
• 3 carries
• 74 rushing yards
• 1 rushing touchdown

Game vs. Penn State

• 6 receptions
• 32 yards
• 1 touchdown

Where is Omar Cooper from?

Cooper is simply a homegrown endowment for Indiana. He attended Lawrence North, Indiana, which is successful Indianapolis. Cooper was a three-sport jock playing football, hoops and way and field, specializing successful the agelong leap successful the latter. He was regarded arsenic a four-star imaginable coming retired of precocious schoolhouse and joined Indiana successful 2022 erstwhile helium played successful 4 games and redshirted. 

Indiana remaining schedule