How Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza because prohibitive Heisman favorite

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INDIANAPOLIS — The first hit Indiana football quarterback Fernando Mendoza took in the Big Ten title game nearly ended his night.

Mendoza was on the receiving end of a violent hit from Ohio State defensive end Caden Curry on the game's first offensive snap, leaving him laying motionless and face-down on the ground for what seemed like an eternity to the IU fans getting settled into their seats at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday night, Dec. 6.

The game's MVP wound up missing just a single snap for the No. 2 Hoosiers (13-0).

"I can't say enough about the way he competes," Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti said after the 13-10 win. "He's got the heart of a champion, and played great tonight and when we needed him."

Cignetti actually missed the hit that left Mendoza sprawled out on the field and didn't see footage of the moment until he was running out to check on his quarterback. The only silver-lining for Cignetti was that Mendoza didn't appear take a hit directly to his head.

"I was looking at the coverage, and then somebody on the headset said Fernando's down, and I saw him rolling around on the ground. And I was, like, 'Oh, boy,'" Cignetti said. " It looked to me like he had got hit not in the head, but maybe had the wind knocked out of him. And that's what he confirmed."

Mendoza's ability to shrug off the moment added to his growing legend in Bloomington.

He's long proven his toughness to the locker room and fan base by putting his body on the line whenever he senses the chance to make a play, from a collision on the sideline at Kinnick Stadium to getting spun around in mid-air during a game-winning drive at Penn State.

The latter moment inspired a passionate response from Mendoza about his willingness to put his "life on the line" for his teammates. Those words generated some push back and eye rolls on social media, but he double-down on the sentiment after winning a Big Ten title.

"I was never going to stay down," Mendoza said. "And that's one thing I know — one thing, I say it and I know it could be a little interpreted as a little criticism sometimes, but I will die for my brothers on that field. So, no matter where it's a gut punch, whether it's a head punch, whatever it is I'm always going to get back up.

"And I was, I knew there was 100% confidence that I was going to play that game, play the rest of the game as we've worked so hard to get to this point that no hit, no knockout hit, knockout punch could take me out of that game."

Mendoza just about locked up the Heisman trophy with his performance as well.

He became just the second quarterback this season to throw for more than 200 yards against Ohio State's defense — he had 222 passing yards (15 of 23) with a touchdown and interception — and had a series of individual moments that will play be hard for Heisman voters to ignore.

Mendoza casually launched a 51-yard completion to Charlie Becker at the start of the third quarter and followed that up with a picture-perfect back-shoulder throw to Elijah Sarratt for a 17-yard touchdown. He also aired it out to Becker on a third-and-6 in the final minutes for a 33-yard gain after Ohio State had burned all but one of its timeouts.

He entered the game as co-favorites for the award with Julian Sayin at +165, but ended the night as the presumptive winner at -5000, per BetMGM, and holding up the MVP trophy to chants of "HeisMendoza" from the IU fans at Lucas Oil Stadium.

"I would love the opportunity to get the invite to New York, which would be fantastic, but I think it's just really a testament to the team," Mendoza said. "And it's not a player award. It's a team award. And I think it just speaks a testament to how much that this team has had that never-ending process of learning and getting better, and that has culminated at this point."

Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Why Fernando Mendoza is the heavy favorite for the Heisman Trophy

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