Fernando Mendoza stood inside the Indiana football weight room, donning a black quarter zip emblazoned with the IU trident and adidas logo.
It was approximately 33 minutes after the redshirt junior put together a statement-making, Heisman Trophy-esque performance in a historic 63-10 drubbing Saturday over then-No. 9 Illinois inside Memorial Stadium in Bloomington.
Sure, Mendoza could’ve relished the victory, taking credit for Indiana’s dominant offensive performance as he went 21 for 23 for 267 yards passing and five touchdowns.
But his incompletions were on his mind — those two incompletions in a 53-point win.
“Although we won tonight, I still had two incompletions I didn’t really like,” Mendoza said postgame. “Especially to Elijah (Sarratt) — the stutter — and then me and (Omar) Cooper (Jr.) need to get on the same page on the out route on Cover Zero.”
Mendoza transferred to Indiana to become the best quarterback he could be, he said. It hasn’t all been smooth sailing for the Miami native in his first season in Bloomington.
In the Hoosiers’ season opener against Old Dominion University on Aug. 30, Mendoza and the offense struggled to score touchdowns in the red zone. He still passed for 193 yards in the 13-point victory.
But he said he was seeking “too perfect” a season to start the year. He felt he was forcing completions against the Monarchs.
So, he met with quarterbacks coach Chandler Whitmer, offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan and head coach Curt Cignetti. The three coached him to stick to the process, to play one play at a time like the score is zero to zero and to not be fueled by emotion.
When Mendoza receives the coaching he has and his teammates are confident in him, it “kind of fulfills me a little bit,” he said.
“I want to serve my teammates,” Mendoza said. “And my goal is really to serve my teammates, and praise God. Those are really my two goals.”
In the Hoosiers’ last three games, Mendoza threw for 782 yards and 14 touchdowns to just 10 incompletions. He played just five total quarters against Illinois and Indiana State University on Sept. 12.
“I got back into being who I am,” Mendoza said. “Who I am with trying to accelerate my footwork, finish throws, and to really just trust my eyes and to rip the ball.”
Three days after Indiana improved to 3-0, Cignetti said he was pleased with the progress Mendoza made throughout nonconference play. The second-year head coach was confident in his signal caller rising to the occasion.
Mendoza rose. So did Indiana’s entire offense.
Seven Hoosiers ran the ball against the Fighting Illini while five caught at least one pass. Three quarterbacks — Mendoza, redshirt freshman Alberto Mendoza and sixth-year senior Grant Wilson — took to the field.
Across the Cream and Crimson’s first three offensive possessions, they had a 7-play, 75-yard touchdown drive — Mendoza hit redshirt junior receiver Omar Cooper Jr. on a bubble screen for an 11-yard score — sandwiched by two three-and-outs.
The Hoosiers found the end zone on each of their next seven drives. Fernando Mendoza commanded the offense on the first six before Alberto Mendoza led the unit on the seventh.
Fernando Mendoza threw a perfectly placed strike — above a linebacker and a corner — to sixth-year senior receiver E.J. Williams Jr. for an 11-yard touchdown. Then, he found sixth-year senior tight end Riley Nowakowski on a screen pass up the middle. The Wisconsin transfer ran 43 yards for the score.
Up 28-7 with just over a minute until halftime, Mendoza hit senior receiver Elijah Sarratt on an out route to the far corner of the south end zone for the 9-yard score. The Hoosiers surrendered a field goal to lead 35-10 at the break.
Even with a rather comfortable lead, Mendoza remembered last season at the University of California, Berkeley, when it hosted the University of Miami in early October. ESPN’s College GameDay hosted its show earlier in the day, as the national spotlight was on Mendoza’s squad.
The Golden Bears led the Hurricanes by 11 at halftime. In the locker room at halftime, Mendoza was happy to be up on his hometown team with a win appearing likely. Cal led by 25 points in the third quarter before collapsing and losing by 1.
“That taught me to never be complacent,” Mendoza said.
So, when the Hoosiers, who are led by a complacency-stalking Cignetti, were in the locker room at halftime Saturday, there wasn’t any satisfaction.
“Everyone had the same message,” Mendoza said. “Hey, ‘We got to stay locked in, and we got to really step on their throats and finish this game.’”
The Hoosiers did.
Sixth-year senior running back Kaelon Black ran between a gaping hole, which Nowakowski and Cooper sealed, for a 40-yard touchdown on Indiana’s first drive of the third quarter.
Mendoza notched his final touchdown with a 5-yard inside post to Sarratt in the north end zone to take a 49-10 advantage. Illinois head coach Bret Bielema put his hands on his knees and dropped his head after the score. The Hoosiers “broke their will,” Cignetti said.
Then, the Hoosiers’ run game took over. Indiana didn’t attempt a pass in the fourth quarter, instead running 17 times for 147 yards and two touchdowns — both by redshirt freshman Khobie Martin to secure the victory.
Minutes after Cignetti shook athletic director Scott Dolson’s hand and hugged President Pamela Whitten on his way into the locker room postgame, the second-year Hoosiers head coach praised Mendoza.
“He's got a quick whip, strong arm, accurate, mobile,” Cignetti said. “The biggest thing when he came to us was working with him in the pocket and the drop-back game, being a little bit more patient, poised going through his progressions.”
Cignetti also feels Mendoza has “tremendous upside.” The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Mendoza’s prolific night has him in the Heisman Trophy conversation — an award no Hoosier has won. He’s the odds-on favorite to win the Heisman at +800, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Praise and national attention could come with an ego. A feeling of satisfaction.
Not with Mendoza.
“And Fernando is the kind of guy, he won't get big-headed,” Cignetti said. “He's going to keep his nose to the grindstone, doing a great job preparing and improve.”
Although Cignetti was certainly commenting on Mendoza’s football preparation, the quarterback even brought up academics, which is a “big thing.” He said he’s grateful to be on scholarship pursuing his academic career — even as a projected top 10 prospect.
The Hoosiers still have eight games left. Their next comes on the road against Iowa on Sept. 28 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa — a place Indiana hasn’t won since 2007.
The Cream and Crimson also have trips to No. 6 Oregon on Oct. 11 and No. 3 Penn State on Nov. 8.
But Saturday night, Indiana showed its a “great Big Ten team,” Mendoza said.
A 4-0 record isn’t the end goal, though. The Hoosiers are seeking back-to-back College Football Playoff berths — a place many national media members said they didn’t belong a season ago.
Junior defensive back D’Angelo Ponds said Indiana heard the messages. That the Hoosiers didn’t play anybody. That the Hoosiers didn’t deserve to be ranked. Ponds said the national media and football fans are “probably still saying the same thing” after Saturday.
But Mendoza isn’t concerned with the outside noise. Nor is Cignetti, who emphasizes ignoring the clutter outside the program. He did, though, want to comment on the outside narrative, turning to associate director for strategic communications Jeff Keag, saying, “I want to, but I’m not.”
The Hoosiers’ offense is “really starting to click,” Mendoza said. It’s also “meshing” together. But Mendoza still wants improvement. Through four games, his play has continually improved.
“And to see my development accelerate is what I want,” he said. “And I want to keep on accelerating tenfold and keep on having exponential growth throughout the season.”
But his demeanor — and black quarter zip after the last two games — hasn’t changed. Not with Week 1 struggles or Week 4 success.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and columnist Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa and qmrichar@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
