Nick Saban Highlights Fernando Mendoza's Ability to Make Timely Plays

The Hoosiers quarterback won the Heisman Trophy as part of Indiana's undefeated season.

Nov 8, 2025; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) throws a pass during the first quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

By any measure, the Rose Bowl is a "gotta-have-it" moment. There's no tomorrow for the losing team. The winning side moves on to one of the national semifinals at the Peach Bowl, continuing its season. Those moments are where former Alabama head coach Nick Saban believes the best comes out of Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.

"He's best [in] a gotta-have-it moment, whether it's Penn State, I mean, 56 percent third-down conversion, 127 explosive plays this year? This guy makes the plays when they need them," Saban said Thursday morning on ESPN's "College GameDay" in Pasadena.

Mendoza led a game-winning drive that spanned 10 plays and 80 yards on the road against Penn State in November, moving the Hoosiers to 10-0 with a 27-24 win. The program now has the nation's top ranking and enters Thursday afternoon's Rose Bowl at 13-0. The Nittany Lions had already moved on from James Franklin by that point and were long removed from their preseason national title hopes, but nearly upset Indiana, which went on to win the Big Ten Championship Game against Ohio State.

Saban once again shared his sentiment that Indiana is not respected enough by the wider college football fanbase. No. 9 Alabama (11-3) being the lower seed against the Hoosiers in a College Football Playoff game was not on many bingo cards prior to the 2023 hiring of Curt Cignetti, who in two seasons in Bloomington has turned the program's fortunes around.

"These guys are a really good team," Saban said. "I'm telling you, these guys have a hell of a team... The way they play defense and how physical they were against Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game, that was proof in the pudding for me."

The Buckeyes, winners of last season's national championship, were eliminated on Wednesday night in an upset loss to Miami (Fla.) at the Cotton Bowl. Indiana's victory over Ohio State in the conference title game last month paved the way for the Hoosiers to get the No. 1 seed in this season's College Football Playoff bracket. That positioning is what brought Indiana and Alabama face-to-face with one another in the kind of do-or-die moment that is difficult to replicate in any other college football setting.

Kickoff in Thursday afternoon's matchup is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT. The quarterfinal game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN. It is set to be the first time the Crimson Tide has ever met the Hoosiers on the gridiron.