Why Fernando Mendoza Transferred To Indiana Over 'Other Blue Bloods'

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza recently appeared on The Pat McAfee Show to discuss his 11-0 season with the Hoosiers.

Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) throws a pass against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Following another impressive performance in Saturday's 31-7 win over Wisconsin, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is the Heisman Trophy favorite with -105 odds on the Draft Kings Sporstbook.

Mendoza would become the first Indiana Hoosier to ever win the Heisman Trophy, yet another sign of the incredible turnaround coach Curt Cignetti has engineered at Indiana by going 22-2 in two seasons after the Hoosiers' 9-27 record from 2021-23.

That may not have been possible without Cignetti landing Mendoza, who transferred from Cal to Indiana this offseason.

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti against Wisconsin at Memorial Stadium. | RIch Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Why Fernando Mendoza transferred to Indiana

Indiana faced stiff competition for Mendoza, who visited Georgia and Missouri and drew plenty of interest while in the transfer portal.

But a conversation with Cignetti quickly made his choice clear.

"Indiana and coach Cignetti really sold me on becoming the best Fernando Mendoza possible," Mendoza said Monday on The Pat McAfee Show. "Also, while having my little brother here, Alberto Mendoza, I was able to get the good, the bad, the ugly of the situation. The transfer portal nowadays, it's like speed dating, and there's a couple other blue bloods in the mix."

"But the way I saw Alberto develop, and coach Cignetti really sold me on, 'Hey, I don't have a crystal ball. I don't know what's gonna happen this season, but I promise you, if you come to my school instead of the other schools, you're gonna be the best Fernando Mendoza quarterback that you can become.' And at that point, I was sold. I'm like, let's go, ready to be a Hoosier."

Mendoza's incredible season

Leading Indiana to an 11-0 record, Mendoza set the program record with his 30th touchdown pass on Saturday against Wisconsin.

That number leads all FBS quarterbacks while also ranking second with a 184.8 passer rating, third with a 73% completion percentage and 17th with 2,641 passing yards. He's also thrown just five interceptions.

A standout moment for Mendoza and the Hoosiers this season was their game-winning drive at Penn State, which featured a remarkable touchdown pass from Mendoza to a leaping Omar Cooper Jr.

"Everyone says Beaver Stadium's loud, and we really felt it on the field," Mendoza recalled on The Pat McAfee Show. "Overcoming a sack on the first play, everybody bouncing back, great resilience throughout the drive, great protection by the o-line, great catches by the receivers, tight ends, and then we have the catch of the year at the end. I know Omar, he played basketball. He's from Indiana, so he has that basketball background. I just tried to put it up there so he could get either an alley-oop dunk or a rebound, and he did it."

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