'Best Night of my Career': Indiana's Fernando Mendoza Has Heisman Moment at Penn State

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Standing on the west sideline before the most dire drive he’s led as Indiana football’s starting quarterback, Fernando Mendoza received a visit from senior linebacker and de-facto team captain Aiden Fisher.

“You do this every single day,” Fisher told Mendoza. “This is just another practice two-minute drill. You know what you're doing.”

This is leading an 80-yard game-winning drive with no timeouts remaining — and an undefeated season resting on his right arm.

Though the Hoosiers allowed 17 unanswered points and their previous three drives ended with an interception and two punts, Mendoza didn’t flinch. Though the first play of their final drive was a seven-yard sack, he didn’t waver.

Nine plays and 80 yards later, Mendoza was, once again, on his back. Only this time, he’d thrown the biggest touchdown pass of his career on, as he described it, the best night of his career.

With pressure bearing down, Mendoza leapt and threw over the middle to redshirt junior receiver Omar Cooper Jr., who soared through the air and acrobatically tapped one foot inbounds to score a game-winning seven-yard touchdown on 3rd and Goal.

Mendoza sacrificed his body to make the throw — and savor the silence in a once-roaring Beaver Stadium as No. 2 Indiana (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten) threw the knockout blow in a 27-24 victory over Penn State (3-6, 0-6 Big Ten) on Saturday afternoon.

“It's a hit of dopamine,” Mendoza said. “Especially with such a rocking crowd, when you hear that silence — and then you get hit in your throat — then you know it's a completion. So, it's definitely a little bit of joy.”

Between the crowd, stakes and outcome, Mendoza said the final two minutes were “like a prime scenario out of a movie.” Especially if the film was about his Heisman Trophy candidacy.

Mendoza needed the moment for his resume. He’d made gaudy throws, led Indiana to big wins and shown up in key moments. He hadn’t yet rescued the Hoosiers from the jaws of defeat.

Yet in the immediate aftermath of Mendoza’s heroic drive — he went 5-for-9 passing for 87 yards with his back against the wall — there were no Heisman poses. After he rose from the West Shore Home Field turf, he sprinted to the endzone, where a brief lift from left tackle Carter Smith awaited him.

Smith gave Mendoza a joy ride fit for one of college football’s biggest statements.

“Anybody looking for a Heisman moment, there it is,” Fisher said. “That dude's earned it. He's the best player in the country, and he showed that today.”

Fisher told Mendoza as such while they walked off the field, but Mendoza didn’t want to hear any of it.

When a reporter asked Cooper postgame about whether he and his teammates support Mendoza’s Heisman Trophy efforts, Mendoza interjected.

“The same way I want the Biletnikoff for all my receivers, the same way I want the best offensive linemen award for all my offensive linemen,” Mendoza said. “That's the end goal, but our goal isn't to win the Heisman, isn't to win the Biletnikoff, isn't to win all the other end of season awards.

“Our goal is to go 1-0 against Wisconsin, then beat Purdue, and then have our best Playoff yet, and try to go 1-0 each week. That's really our goal, and a lot of stuff will come, and it'll tumble in, but we're really focused on the next week against Wisconsin right now.”

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said postgame he doesn’t think about endorsements for Mendoza’s Heisman campaign, though Cignetti told Mendoza two weeks prior he shouldn’t worry about such accolades.

Mendoza has taken Cignetti’s advice.

“He's worried about who our next opponent is, and he knows that in his head,” Cooper said. “He doesn't allow that to affect him. It allows him to continue to play free and continue to just push us to where we want to go.”

Mendoza evidently doesn’t allow much to affect him. He’s thrown five interceptions this season, and three have come in the fourth quarter of one-possession road games. He’s responded by tossing game-winning touchdown passes in all three.

When Penn State defensive back King Mack intercepted Mendoza’s pass midway through the fourth quarter — a play that set up the Nittany Lions’ go-ahead score — Mendoza only briefly let his frustration show with a quick yell and swing of his arms.

By the time he’d finished his run back to the sideline, he’d returned to equilibrium. He once again was the positive, cheerful roommate who sophomore receiver Charlie Becker has grown to know this year.

And two drives later, Mendoza led one of the biggest drives in Indiana football history, one that gave the Hoosiers their first win ever in Happy Valley and came without preseason AP All-American receiver Elijah Sarratt, who didn’t play due to a hamstring injury.

Mendoza didn’t have his flashiest stat line Saturday — he went 19-for-30 passing for 218 yards, one touchdown and an interception while adding an 18-yard rushing score — but he may have delivered his most Heisman-validating performance.

“Fernando is probably the best quarterback in college football,” Becker said postgame. “And I think all the hard work we put in (during) the offseason led to this exact moment.”

Cooper said Indiana’s confidence in Mendoza stems from his daily work ethic and the progress he’s made since fall camp. Fisher noted Mendoza puts in hours of work that are unmatched nationally, all fueled by a desire to be the best quarterback in the country.

Mendoza has continually won over teammates with his toughness, too. Penn State registered three sacks and six quarterback hits Saturday, a bigger-than-normal beating for the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Mendoza.

But he never once hesitated to get up. He sees Cooper and Becker taking hits over the middle. He sees center Pat Coogan and right tackle Kahlil Benson “battling their butts off.” And though he plays the sport’s most glamorous position, he sees himself no differently.

“I know that I'm going to put my life on the line for that team, and I'm going to die on that field,” Mendoza said. “I would never sub myself out in that instance, and I would die on that field for my brothers.”

Mendoza and the Hoosiers stared death in the face Saturday and walked away smiling. Perhaps it was the dopamine hit of a silent Beaver Stadium, the assertion that “Heis-Mendoza” isn’t going anywhere or the line of cream and crimson-clad Hoosier fans standing by the metal fence cheering as the team walked to the bus after the game

Or maybe it’s that Mendoza, who infamously said he went “98 yards with (his) boys” last season at Cal, went 87 yards with his new family — and grew another step closer to finding another one in the Heisman House.

“This by far is the best night of my career,” Mendoza said. “These are game-winning drives that you dream of growing up as a kid. I can say I think this is the top of my career right now, and it's so much joy in my heart to share with the program and all my teammates.”