How Fernando Mendoza Earned A+ from Curt Cignetti After Indiana Football's Rose Bowl Win

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — A few minutes after 11 a.m. Thursday, Fernando Mendoza strolled through the southwest tunnel inside Rose Bowl Stadium, his eyes forward, a bottled water in one hand and his phone in the other.

Five-and-a-half hours later, Indiana football's redshirt junior quarterback stood atop a stage, a fresh rose clenched between his mouth, beaming from ear to ear after guiding the No. 1 Hoosiers (14-0) to a 38-3 victory over No. 9 Alabama (11-4) in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

Apart from giving Alabama its worst loss this century and worst postseason loss ever, Mendoza made his own history by setting Rose Bowl records with an 87.5% completion rate and a 250.2 passer rating.

In his first game since becoming Indiana's inaugural Heisman Trophy winner Dec. 13, Mendoza went 14-for-16 passing for 192 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

The Hoosiers went three-and-out on their opening possession, during which Mendoza took a pair of sacks, before scoring on six of their final seven possessions. After a three-and-a-half-week break between games, which resulted in losses for seven of the eight teams with byes over the past two College Football Playoffs, Indiana settled in while Mendoza starred.

And while center Pat Coogan earned Rose Bowl Offensive MVP afterwards, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti told reporters Saturday that Mendoza was the "player of the game on offense." There were no negative side effects, no letdowns in preparation, in the aftermath of Mendoza's historic Heisman victory, and having the proverbial Heisman target on his back hardly phased him.

"He was the same guy," Cignetti said. "After (the first drive), I mean, he was tremendous. He had more touchdown passes than incompletions. He used his legs to make plays like he's done all year, and he was 100% on point. And then we got the run game going and we didn't need his arm quite as much. He hit the clock, get out of the game.

"I'd give him an A-plus."

Mendoza threw more touchdown passes than incompletions for the fourth time this season, and he had another game where the two numbers equaled one another.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Mendoza also delivered several key scrambles. He picked up three first downs with his legs on drives that netted touchdowns, and he rushed for 38 yards on five sack-adjusted attempts.

Cignetti said Mendoza's legs form "the winning edge" for Indiana's offense.

"I mean, when you look at a quarterback, obviously he's got to have throwing ability and be able to process, but the ability to extend plays, whether it's with his legs or once he's out of the pocket with his arm, his eyes down field, I mean, that's the key," Cignetti said. "A guy that cannot extend plays, you really become vulnerable.

"And Fernando's ability to make plays with his legs, boy, I can't even count the number of times in big games this year where his legs have come through and extended drives."

In 2024, Indiana lost its only two games against top 10 teams. In 2025, the unblemished Hoosiers have three wins over teams currently ranked inside the top 10, and all came away from Memorial Stadium.

Indiana sixth-year senior running back Kaelon Black cited hard practices that include different scenarios, a "great" offensive line and, perhaps most importantly, having a Heisman-winning quarterback in Mendoza as the primary reasons behind improved success in high-level games.

The Hoosiers never had any doubts about Mendoza's ability to put his Heisman tour, and ceremony, in the rearview mirror. Pat Coogan said before the Rose Bowl that while the weekend in New York City was "a memory we all made for a lifetime," Mendoza was happy to close the chapter and move forward.

Indiana sixth-year senior tight end Riley Nowakowski said he knew Mendoza was in the right headspace the week after the ceremony, which took place six days before the Hoosiers learned the result of No. 8 Oklahoma and No. 9 Alabama to determine their Rose Bowl opponent.

Thus, for the entirety of Indiana's near-two-week stretch of game-planning for Alabama, the Hoosiers felt Mendoza was locked into his preparation.

"We try and keep him level-headed," Nowakowski said, smiling. "We gave him a little bit of a tough time afterwards, but he went right back after the ceremony. Enjoyed that weekend, but then I think he just got back to work. I mean, that's the kind of guy he is. He loves the process. Like, he loves football.

"So, it's like, as much as the awards and everything are great, he just wants to go out there and play with his boys. That's the best part."

Mendoza said Indiana's extended break was "definitely a huge struggle" to handle, and the Hoosiers' unsuccessful first drive suggested as much. But Cignetti eradicated all complacency within the program, Mendoza said, and after Indiana's offense wet its feet on the opening possession, it quickly returned to its usual form.

"We got the ball rolling and we got back to playing Indiana brand of football," Mendoza said postgame. "And so I think it was a great — overcoming that challenge as a team, having such a long time off. But I think we overcame that challenge and that showed on the field."

Mendoza, who delivered one of the most efficient performances in the history of college football's most iconic bowl game, has a quality track record of success inside Rose Bowl Stadium.

As the starting quarterback at the University of California, Berkeley, Mendoza led the Golden Bears to a 33-7 win over UCLA on Nov. 25, 2023. It was the last iteration of 'Pac-12 After Dark' and came against now-Oregon starting quarterback Dante Moore.

Mendoza is 2-0 at the Rose Bowl and, after leading Indiana past Oregon on Oct. 11, 2-0 against Moore. The former won't soon change. The latter will.

The Mendoza-led Hoosiers will face Moore and the Ducks at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Peach Bowl as part of the College Football Playoff semifinals.

Mendoza, tapping into a forward-facing, Cignetti-driven philosophy, said after the game that while he appreciated becoming a Rose Bowl champion in front of his family and within a "historic venue," he'd already begun turning his attention to Oregon.

The Miami native has already made plenty of history in his first season in Bloomington. He and the Hoosiers have the opportunity to make an abundance more — and Mendoza, with the weight of the Heisman race off his shoulders, feels ready to meet the moment.

"I'm very confident the way the team is playing," Mendoza said postgame. "It's not just myself, I think our entire team and our coaching staff really enjoy football, and I think that's why we work so hard at it. We work really hard every single day because not only do we enjoy football, we also enjoy winning, and we know what that takes.

"So, every single day we're always going to put our best foot forward."

And quite often this fall, Mendoza's best foot has led to a spot in the Hoosiers' record books.