BLOOMINGTON — As Indiana football cruised towards a seventh straight victory to open the 2025 season, the Memorial Stadium crowd made a statement.
No. 3 IU’s 38-13 victory over Michigan State on Saturday came in wet second-half conditions, after a lightning delay extended halftime longer than usual. Many fans didn’t return to the seating bowl after evacuating to their cars, but the still-large group that stayed became particularly invested, given the circumstances. The student section harkened back to another era of Indiana football, with a cluster in section 19 taking off their shirts, waving them around, and making a lot of noise.
Those fans, and soon the entire crowd that remained, weighed in on the Heisman Trophy race.
“Heis-Mendoza” chants erupted in Bloomington, for Indiana’s star quarterback Fernando Mendoza — during his best performance of the season.
Mendoza lit up the Spartans for a season-high 332 yards, on a strong 24-for-28 clip — somehow only his third-most efficient outing this year. He threw four touchdowns, and added 18 rushing yards on five attempts.
“I would say this is the sharpest we’ve seen him up to this point in a game,” IU head coach Curt Cignetti said after the game. “But he continues to improve. He continues to prepare like nobody I’ve ever been around, and he’s getting better and better.”
Mendoza returned to the top spot on the Heisman leaderboard at sportsbooks after the game, at 13-to-5 odds. There’s a lot of football ahead, but his main competition — for now — is Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin.
The Cal transfer put himself in the conversation after Indiana’s dominant win over Illinois in September, and has remained among the favorites since then. He entered Saturday’s game ranked 14th in the nation and sixth in the Big Ten in completion percentage, at 71.2. After his 86 percent rate against Michigan State, that mark will go up.
Mendoza was also fourth in the country and first in the Big Ten entering the MSU game with 17 touchdown passes. After throwing four more on Saturday, he’ll be tied with Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson and TCU’s Josh Hoover for the most in the country. And with only two interceptions so far this season, the Miami native has one of the strongest touchdown-to-interception ratios in the nation.
Indiana’s quarterback said he heard the “Heis-Mendoza” chants on the field during the game — the cheers were loud and clear enough that he would’ve been lying if he said otherwise. But, as is usual for the redshirt junior, he credited his teammates for helping him succeed and pointed to how much more work lies ahead this season.
But Mendoza’s teammates know they’re witnessing a special season.
“Honestly, don’t ever tell him I said this, cause he hates hearing stuff like this. But I feel like we got the best quarterback in college football,” wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. said. “I’m grateful to have him on our team, and just seeing the progression that he’s been making each and every week has been amazing. So I’m just happy for him and want to see him keep working.”
If there’s one thing Indiana coaches and teammates would say is a certainty with Mendoza, it’s that he’ll keep working.
Cignetti’s comment about his quarterback’s work ethic isn’t the first time he’s said something like that. He’s praised the redshirt junior’s preparation on numerous occasions this season, and made a similar remark on “The Pat McAfee Show” during the week.
Curt Cignetti says he’s never seen player who prepares more than Fernando Mendoza
Time management and dedication are part of what sets Mendoza’s preparation apart for Cignetti. Teammates also see how much time he spends during the week preparing, both physically and mentally.
“He lives in this facility, for real,” receiver Elijah Sarratt said. “Anytime I’m in here, he’s in here. He’s in here more than me, staying after hours, watching film. After practice, he goes, he has a practice script, going over plays out there.”
Mendoza’s extensive preparation makes a difference in his play.
He’s grown more confident with every passing week this season. The result isn’t always perfect — Mendoza and the IU offense had to push through a low-scoring grinder at Iowa, and he threw interceptions in the fourth quarter against the Hawkeyes and at Oregon. But anytime the Miami native has faced adversity this season, he’s responded with savvy and precision. He followed both of those interceptions with go-ahead touchdown drives.
And Mendoza shows so much poise running Indiana’s option-heavy offense. His work during the week helps him read defenses and know what to expect, and his strong decision-making allows IU’s offense to run like a well-oiled machine.
“He’s just so smart. He can read a defense like the back of his hand. The way he’s able to get the ball out quick, know where to go with the ball, he’s really good at reading defensive shells, even when it’s a disguise,” linebacker Aiden Fisher said. “He’s really good, and his preparation sets him apart from everybody else in the country. He’s just phenomenal in the way that he approaches the game and the details that he puts into it.”
With five games still remaining in the regular season, and at least one postseason game, Mendoza has a chance to leave a big mark on Indiana’s record book.
He’s only eight passing touchdowns shy of tying Kurtis Rourke’s program record 29 from last season, and he’s in position to surpass Rourke’s single-season completion percentage record (69.4) as well.
Mendoza would enter rarified air by earning major postseason recognition, as well. He could become the first IU quarterback to be named a first team All-American, or first team All-Big Ten, since Antwaan Randle El in 2001. He’d be Indiana’s first-ever Heisman winner — the program has had only one player seriously contend for the award (Anthony Thompson, 1989 runner-up). And in the spring, Mendoza could become the first IU player selected in the first round of the NFL Draft since 1994 (Thomas Lewis).
The spotlight of those potential achievements, and from what he’s already accomplished, haven’t fazed him. Mendoza is a walking embodiment of the next-play focused, humble and hungry mentality Cignetti always preaches to his team. He blocks out the noise and pours his energy into his craft and into his teammates.
“He handles it (the spotlight) very well. He’s not on social media a lot,” Sarratt said. “Someone who’s in the spotlight all the time, the way he handles it, it’s very impressive.”
The Hoosiers have a lot of season left. Mendoza could fade out of the Heisman race and still have put up a tremendous year.
But the Miami native has been so consistent and unflappable all season, there’s little reason to anticipate major regression. Mendoza gives Indiana so many important qualities at quarterback. He’s accurate, and he rarely puts the ball in harm’s way. He has the arm strength to be a threat at all three levels. He can extend plays and pick up yardage with his legs. He’s a strong leader. And he has the drive to continue improving, and the work ethic to act on that drive.
In the middle of another historic season for Indiana football, as a team, Fernando Mendoza is putting together an individual campaign that’s quickly becoming historic in its own right.
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