Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia recalls the moment when he knew that his Buckeyes were in toruble against the Indiana Hoosiers.
Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia was on Good Morning Football to talk about the draft and all of the players that he either coached or played against in his first year at Ohio State.
The conversation went to Fernando Mendoza and what he is going to bring to the Las Vegas Raiders.
He talked glowingly about the traits that Mendoza has, such as arm strength and accuracy, but then the conversation turned to Mendoza's toughness. Patricia laughed as he remembered the Big Ten Championship Game when he knew his Buckeyes were in trouble.
On the very first offensive play, Caden Curry crushed Mendoza. Totally legal, totally clean, but it was a massive hit that had Mendoza lying flat and lifeless on the ground.
It looked incredibly serious, and for just a few minutes, the entire stadium was concerned about Mendoza's health. Then, as he started to get his bearings on the ground, Ohio State fans throughout the country just realized that we knocked out the best player on the field on the first play.
For Patricia, his initial thought was "ok, let's go!"
Not so fast my friend.
One play later, No. 15 came jogging back onto the field and into the huddle.
It was at the point that Patricia thought, "uh oh, we've got a problem."
Patricia was correct, the Buckeyes did have a problem. Mendoza wasn't his normal, great self against Ohio State, but he did exactly what he needed to do to get Indiana the victory.
The word that comes to mind after that performance from Mendoza was clutch. The Buckeyes were the best defense in the country, and while they stifled the Hoosiers early, it was a couple of late drives that Mendoza needed to make plays, and he did just that.
Patricia continued to compliment the former Hoosier quarterback, talking about how impressive he is as a person and how he is working really hard to be successful at the next level.
For the Buckeyes, that game, followed by the loss to the Miami Hurricanes, is what is driving Ohio State through this offseason. The Buckeyes feel like they left a great opportunity to win a National Championship go unrealized last year.
Especially after the draft, they had seven of the first 64 picks in the NFL Draft, but still came up empty in 2025.
Luckily for them, they won't have to face Fernando Mendoza again, but it will still be a challenge for them to get back to the top of the mountain in 2026.
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