Strong quarterback play was a common denominator across the four Big Ten teams that made the College Football Playoff in 2024.
And the league projects to have some strong play behind center once again in 2025.
CBS Sports ranked the anticipated starters in the league for 2025 1-18, and the results are promising for Indiana in more ways than one.
First, IU quarterback Fernando Mendoza is slotted as the No. 3 quarterback in the league.
IU coach Curt Cignetti has had one of, and often the best quarterback in his league annually going back to his time at James Madison. He has acknowledged on multiple occasions that a good quarterback makes life easier and makes the coach look good.
Last week at Big Ten media day, Cignetti said he thinks Mendoza has a stronger arm than last year’s star quarterback Kurtis Rourke. And he says Mendoza has greater mobility too. If Mendoza can approximate Rourke’s ability to process the field and make the proper reads — something Rourke did at an elite level — then IU just might have one of the league’s best signal callers this year.
Here’s how CBS described Mendoza while placing him in the No. 3 spot:
Mendoza ranked as the No. 4 transfer quarterback of the cycle, per 247Sports, after throwing for more than 3,000 yards at Cal last season. He is already generating buzz as a potential first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and should thrive in a system that produced a 3,000-yard passer last season in Kurtis Rourke. Mendoza could easily go down as one of this cycle’s most-significant portal acquisitions.
But what about the quarterbacks the Hoosiers will face?
That’s where it gets interesting.
CBS only places three Big Ten quarterbacks IU will see in 2025 in the top half of the league, with the other six obviously ranked in the 10-18 range. Moreover, Indiana will face just one of the league’s top-half quarterbacks on the road this fall.
After leading Penn State to the CFP semifinals last year, Drew Allar is CBS’ No. 1 quarterback in the Big Ten. Indiana will travel to Happy Valley to face the Nittany Lions in November. 2025 will be Allar’s third season as the Nittany Lions’ starting quarterback. He threw for 3,327 yards and 24 touchdowns against eight interceptions last season.
In what projects to be a massive week four meeting, IU welcomes Illinois and their QB Luke Altmyer to a raucous Memorial Stadium. He had a career year in 2025 — his fourth in college — with 2,717 passing yards on 60.8-percent passing and 22 touchdowns to six interceptions, while adding 217 rushing yards and four scores on the ground.
UCLA’s Nico Iamaleava is the only other top half of the Big Ten quarterback IU will face according to the CBS rankings. Iamaleava led Tennessee to the CFP last season and now plays for former Indiana QB coach turned offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri at UCLA. He’s talented but his supporting cast will have to step up. The former 5-star QB completed 63.8% of his passes for 2,616 yards with 19 touchdowns and five interceptions in 2024.
Here’s how CBS ranked all of the quarterbacks 1-18, with IU opponents in bold:
1. Drew Allar, Penn State
2. Julian Sayin, Ohio State
3. Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
4. Luke Altmyer, Illinois
5. Demond Williams, Washington
6. Nico Iamaleava, UCLA
7. Dylan Raiola, Nebraska
8. Bryce Underwood, Michigan
9. Jayden Maiava, USC
10. Dante Moore, Oregon
11. Aidan Chiles, Michigan State
12. Mark Gronowski, Iowa
13. Billy Edwards Jr., Wisconsin
14. Preston Stone, Northwestern
15. Malik Washington, Maryland
16. Athan Kaliakmanis, Rutgers
17. Ryan Browne, Purdue
18. Drake Lindsey, Minnesota
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