Oregon Wants Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza to ‘Bring His Best.’ IU Has No Doubt He Will

EUGENE, Ore. — Sitting in a black chair inside Indiana football’s team room half an hour after practice Tuesday night, center Pat Coogan motioned toward the corridors leading to Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington.

Out there, Coogan said, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza was still throwing passes.

“His work ethic is second to none,” Coogan said. “And that's what separates him.”

Check in at another time, and you’ll still likely find Mendoza somewhere inside Memorial Stadium, be it the locker room or upstairs in the coaches' offices.

“He puts his time in, 24/7, in this facility,” receiver Elijah Sarratt said.

Fernando Mendoza has Oregon’s attention

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza throws a pass against Iowa on Sept. 27, 2025, at Kinnick Stadium. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Mendoza enters the No. 7 Hoosiers’ (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) looming road matchup with No. 3 Oregon (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) tied for second in the FBS with 16 passing touchdowns, and he’s No. 10 in completion rate at 73% among passers with at least 50 attempts.

The Miami native is also generating buzz in the Heisman Trophy race and as a potential first-round NFL Draft pick.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning has noticed.

“Their quarterback is playing as good as anybody,” Lanning said Monday in his press conference.

Lanning touted Indiana’s supporting cast, noting Mendoza is “surrounded by some really talented players.” The Hoosiers’ starting receivers, Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr., are tied for third nationally with six touchdown catches this season.

Mendoza also has a firm grasp on Indiana offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan’s scheme, Lanning said, and he’s executing at a high level.

“This offense, when you watch it, has an identity,” Lanning said. “You're going to see the same play ran a couple of times. The window dressing might be different, but they know how to run this play. It's not about inventing new offense, it's about running it better than you and executing it better than you. They do a really good job of that.

“They do enough of that to where you think, ‘Okay, this is what it's going to be,’ and then they throw a wrinkle in there and it is different. He's playing in an offense that clearly has an identity and he's playing around really good players.”

Indiana’s offense ranks No. 4 nationally in scoring with an average of 47.8 points per game and No. 5 in total offense at 538.2 yards per game. Mendoza didn’t play into the fourth quarter until Week 5 due to the lopsided nature of Indiana’s first four games, but he’s still averaging 241.6 passing yards per game while leading the Big Ten with a 197.8 rating.

Stats aside, Mendoza has put impressive throws on tape.

Sarratt cited a 37-yard hole shot to receiver E.J. Williams Jr. in the Hoosiers’ 20-15 win over Iowa on Sept. 27 as one instance of Mendoza’s arm talent. Senior linebacker Aiden Fisher, who’s faced Mendoza each day in practice since the spring, said the ball flies out of his hand.

But arm strength isn’t the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Mendoza’s only redeeming quality.

“Fernando's been great since he got here,” Fisher said. “Leadership-wise, he's been phenomenal. And then, obviously, I think his arm talent speaks for itself. And then when he runs, he's mobile, he makes people miss. Just really good mentally as well.

“Even going against him in practice and fall camp and things like that, just really smart, deciphering coverages and getting the ball out of his hands quick.”

Oregon linebacker Bryce Boettcher gets the same challenge Fisher deals with at practice, though he’s faced Mendoza before. Boettcher and the Ducks beat Mendoza, then at the University of California, Berkeley, in 2023. Mendoza went 18-for-34 passing for 177 yards, no touchdowns and one interception in a 63-19 loss at Autzen Stadium.

Boettcher, who’s No. 7 in the Big Ten with 40 tackles, said Mendoza has “obviously improved” since transferring from Cal to Indiana in the winter.

“He does the job well,” Boettcher said. “He makes solid decisions and plays well within their scheme. I’m excited. Hopefully he brings his best come Saturday, because we want to see his best. It should be a fun one.”

It’s fair to say Mendoza didn’t bring his best to Eugene in 2023, but he’s two years older, has 20 more games under his belt and is surrounded by one of the nation’s most productive supporting casts.

And his teammates have no doubt he’ll rise to the occasion Saturday afternoon — he’s too talented and works too hard to fall short.

“His talent is undeniable,” Coogan said. “Combine that with his work ethic — you can be as talented as possible, some of the best talent in the world, but you don't have that mindset to get better each and every day, that work ethic, that grittiness, that toughness — that's what really sets him apart.

“So, it's exciting for him, and we've got to go out there and protect him and do our jobs. We’ve got to go let him shine. That's our jobs, and we've got to go do it.”

Indiana’s offensive line struggled at times against Iowa. The Hawkeyes sacked Mendoza twice and pressured him on 40% of his drop backs. He went only 2-for-7 passing for 45 yards and an interception on those plays, according to Pro Football Focus.

Coogan wants to see progress up front Saturday in Eugene.

“I think we just need to work more cohesively as a unit,” Coogan said. “It's never going to be one guy. It's never going to fall on one guy. It's a unit, and we've got to do it together. It's got to be all five of us out there, straining and working our butts off to keep him clean.”

Oregon poses a difficult challenge. The Ducks are tied for the sixth-best scoring defense in the FBS, allowing only 12.2 points per game, and they’re No. 7 in total defense at 238.2 yards allowed per game.

Something must give between Indiana’s high-powered offense and Oregon’s stingy defense. Boettcher believes the Ducks, with more size than the Hoosiers on the line of scrimmage, are well-positioned entering Saturday.

“Obviously we’ve got some things we’re game-planning, which I’m not going to really go in depth with,” Boettcher said. “But just playing our game, doing what we do — disguising looks, or maybe showing him something that is exactly our look and going off that.

“Just playing ball the right way, doing what we do, and I think we’ll have a pretty good shot of winning this game.”

Mendoza is half of a highly anticipated quarterback duel with Oregon’s Dante Moore. Both are ranked amongst the top signal callers in the nation and potential No. 1 overall NFL Draft picks.

ESPN’s College GameDay will be in attendance, and the Hoosiers expect Oregon’s Autzen Stadium to be loud for the 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff. It is, by and large, the biggest game of Mendoza’s college career and a chance to wipe away bad memories from his last trip to Eugene.

But Indiana coach Curt Cignetti doesn’t want any of that on his mind. Instead, the Hoosiers hope Mendoza stays in the same space, both physically and mentally, as Tuesday night — as if he’s merely throwing passes without an ounce of pressure in his face or on his shoulders.

“I just want Fernando, like the rest of the guys on the team, to relax and play their game,” Cignetti said. “We're just going to go out there and play our game and play it well.”