Can you hear the drums Fernando? I remember long ago another starry night like this
Fernando Mendoza arrived in Bloomington in the Spring of 2025 after transferring in from California. His younger brother, Alberto Mendoza, had been recruited by then-James Madison head coach Curt Cignetti and elected to follow Cignetti and staff once he’d accepted the Indiana job.
It was a foregone conclusion that the elder Mendoza, given his experience, would be Indiana’s starting quarterback to replace the outgoing Kurtis Rourke, who’d led the Hoosiers to a program-best 11-2 season in 2025, Cignetti’s
first leading the program.
In the firelight Fernando… You were humming to yourself and softly strumming your guitar
The 2025 season started slowly, with Indiana breezing to three straight wins in the non-conference slate just as it had in 2024. These weren’t the most challenging of opponents, all hailing from the group of five level, but the first challenge to come was No. 9 Illinois in Bloomington.
Mendoza laid waste to the Fighting Illini, completing 21 of his 23 passing attempts for 267 yards and five touchdowns en route to a 63-10 win.
The Hoosiers surged in the rankings. Was every week going to be like this? Well,
I could hear the distant drums… And sounds of bugle calls were coming from afar
It took all of one week for that to be flipped. Indiana traveled to Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, a gauntlet for countless top Big Ten teams, and met its match through three quarters and change. Mendoza went just 13/23 against the Hawkeyes with a pair of touchdowns and a late interception that looked as though it could seal a loss.
The Hoosiers got one more real look on offense after Iowa stalled and made the most of it, with Mendoza completing passes of 24 and 49 yards, the second being a long run after the catch go ahead touchdown that put Indiana back on top.
One more stalled Iowa drive later and Mendoza had pulled it off, coming back from a bad play to seal a win on the road.
They were closer now Fernando… every hour every minute seemed to last eternally
Indiana, now ranked at No. 7 went on the road again from there traveling up to the Pacific Northwest to face No. 3 Oregon in Autzen Stadium, where opposing teams just do not win.
The bright lights, again, were on the Hoosiers. ESPN’s College Gameday was in town, plenty of national media had their eyes on the game and college football fans around the country tuned in to see if Indiana was for real in 2025.
The Hoosiers took control early. Oregon tied the game up in the third quarter before Indiana went on a lengthy touchdown drive to go up 20-13.
Then it happened again.
Needing a play in the fourth quarter, Mendoza threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown as Oregon tied things up again. This, like at Iowa, didn’t faze him, as he proceeded to lead the offense right back down the field before finding Elijah Sarratt in the endzone to reclaim the lead he’d lost just a drive prior.
A field goal all but sealed things after.
Indiana breezed right by all of Michigan State (38-13), UCLA (56-6) and Maryland (55-10) from there. When the Terrapins sold out to stop the pass in College Park, Mendoza was more than happy to hand the ball off or take it himself as the Hoosiers put up 367 rushing yards.
Sure, Mendoza didn’t have the five passing touchdowns he did in a different blowout, against Illinois, but he left with what he came for:
A win.
I was so afraid Fernando… We were young and full of life and none of us prepared to die
Then it happened again.
Indiana found itself in another late game fight for its season’s life on the road, this time in State College, Pennsylvania. The Nittany Lions were in the middle of a lost season with former head coach James Franklin’s midseason dismissal looming large, but still had something to play for.
If they couldn’t win the national title, they sure could hurt Indiana’s chances at it and nearly did.
And I’m not ashamed to say… The roar of guns and cannons almost made me cry
With the lead, just like at Oregon, Mendoza threw another costly interception in the fourth quarter, setting Penn State’s offense up in the shadow of the Indiana endzone. Seven plays later, Indiana was losing 24-20. The Nittany Lions forced a punt on Indiana’s ensuing possession before punting on their own.
There the Hoosiers were, with just under two minutes left and no timeouts, needing a touchdown to keep their perfect season alive. Mendoza dropped back on first down and was sacked for a loss of seven yards and, more importantly, time.
And then,
There was something in the air that night, the stars were bright, Fernando
Mendoza completed a 22-yard pass to Omar Cooper Jr. on second down, moving the chains. Then came a 12-yard completion to E.J. Williams to keep moving. Then 29 yards to Riley Nowakowski to move into Penn State territory.
17 yards to Charlie Becker to get into the red zone.
Incompletion.
Incompletion.
Then:
Mendoza had done it again.
One stalled Penn State drive and an ill-fated hail mary later, Indiana was 10-0 with its eyes set on the Big Ten Football Championship Game just up the road in Indianapolis. All that stood between it and the title was Wisconsin (31-7), Purdue (56-3)…
… and No. 1 Ohio State
They were shining there for you and me. For liberty, Fernando
Ohio State kept Indiana out of the 2024 conference championship game and gave the Hoosiers their lone regular season blemish in 2024 with a demoralizing 38-15 loss in Columbus. Mendoza had been at Cal then, he hadn’t felt the pain of that loss as many other members of Indiana’s roster had.
The Buckeyes made sure he felt some early though.
Mendoza laid on the turf for a while after that hit, coming off the field as his brother and backup jogged on for a single play before the elder Mendoza returned to the cheers of the cream and crimson faithful.
Vast portions of those in the stands only knew losses to Ohio State, never seeing a win. The last came in 1988. The Hoosiers had come close several times, but never fully beaten the Buckeyes.
Then Mendoza showed up. In Bloomington and this game.
Entering the locker room with a 10-6 deficit, Mendoza delivered a 51-yard strike downfield to Charlie Becker in Ohio State territory early in the third quarter before a 17-yard touchdown pass to Sarratt to reclaim the lead.
Mendoza kept delivering from there as the Hoosiers looked to wind down the clock and keep moving downfield. Facing 3rd & 6 in Indiana’s territory with Ohio State threatening, Mendoza found Becker again, 33 yards down the field to keep the clock moving and pick up another set of downs.
One last ditch effort from Ohio State later and they’d done it.
The Hoosiers were flippin’ champs.
Though I never thought that we could lose, There’s no regret
Winning the Big Ten Championship locked up the No. 1 seed for the Hoosiers and a spot in the Rose Bowl, this year a College Football Playoff Quarterfinal.
Seeing Indiana playing in the Rose Bowl had been a lifelong dream for countless Hoosiers fans. The program’s last, and only prior, appearance was in 1968, a 14-3 loss to USC. Because of Mendoza, that dream was realized 68 years later in 2026.
In the game, a bout with the sport’s standard bearer in Alabama, Mendoza completed 14 of his 16 passing attempts for 192 yards and three touchdowns as the Hoosiers routed the Crimson Tide and fans who made the trip, filling the stadium, belted out Hurts So Good.
That win meant a rematch with Oregon for a spot in the National Championship Game, with the Hoosiers taking round two 56-22 as Mendoza completed 17 of his 20 passing attempts for five touchdowns.
Indiana, which had never won a New Year’s Six bowl game in program history, now had two such trophies just a few weeks into 2026. Mendoza was masterful in both games, finishing with eight passing touchdowns to just five incompletions.
Next stop, home: Miami, Florida.
Going into the game, the Hurricanes had similarities to the Hawkeyes and Nittany Lions with a tough, physical defensive line poised to give the Hoosiers trouble. This ended up proving accurate as Indiana’s offense wasn’t the same dominant unit it had been weeks prior.
Though they never trailed, a late Miami surge to put the Hurricanes within a field goal, 17-14, called on Mendoza to lead the Hoosiers back down the field. A few runs, an 18-yard pass to Cooper Jr. and a 14-yard completion to Becker on fourth down set the Hoosiers up in the redzone.
Three plays later, Indiana had yet to convert. This time there was no late interception or a passing touchdown that helped put Indiana further ahead.
Mendoza’s legs, not his arm, proved key.
He wasn’t done though. A response from Miami called for more from Mendoza, who delivered a 14-yard completion on one third down and a 19-yard strike on another to help drain the clock and set up a field goal to put further game pressure on Miami and Carson Beck, who’d need a touchdown rather than a field goal.
Facing this pressure, Beck threw the game-sealing interception on a deep ball to the Indiana defense which, as it had all season, read the situation perfectly.
A kneel down from Mendoza sealed it.
27-21. National champions.
If I had to do the same again I would, my friend, Fernando
Fernando Mendoza. National Champion. Heisman Trophy winner. Maxwell Award Winner. Manning Award Winner. FBS passing touchdowns leader.
Indiana Hoosier.
If I had to do the same again I would, my friend, Fernando
Fernando Mendoza leaves Bloomington as one of the most individually consequential Indiana Hoosiers of all time. There is no 12-0 season, no Big Ten Championship, no Rose Bowl, no College Football Playoff run and no national championship without him.
He leaves behind a legacy that rivals several of the sport’s titles and is nearly without peer in Bloomington. Indiana fans across the world will tune into Mendoza’s NFL career and root for his success in the years to come, probably bringing some of the same Hoosier crimson they donned at the Peach Bowl and national championship in the 30 other NFL stadiums.
Fernando Mendoza, Indiana Hoosier.
