Fernando Mendoza has spanned the country during his four years of collage, going from Miami to California and then Indiana, where he's found unprecedented success as a Heisman Trophy winner and the leader of a 15-0 team. He'll play for a title in his hometown on Monday night.
MIAMI, Fla. — Fernando Mendoza was raised in Miami, and was a nice little quarterback at Columbus High School. He was good, but not great. He had no Power 5 offers, not a one.
In-state, Florida and Florida State weren't interested. Neither were the Miami Hurricanes, even though Mendoza grew up less than a mile from campus. It was hard on Mendoza, who dreamed of a pro football career someday.
An excellent student, he took a visit to Yale and thought he might wind up there. But when California offered a scholarship, he headed west. He got his major-conference connection.
Mendoza redshirted in 2022, played about half a season in 2023 and was a starter throughout the 2024 season. And when he entered the transfer portal, his younger brother Alberto was on the phone right away. He shared his Indiana experiences under first-year coach Curt Cignetti, who had led Indiana to an 11-2 record and a College Football Playoff berth.
They talked about a lot of things, but one thing never came up. There was never any talk about the fact that this year's national title game was going to be played in Miami. Their hometown.
"We never talked about that when I came to visit,'' Fernando Mendoza said. "Coach Cignetti's biggest point was that they would make me the best version of myself, that they would make me a better quarterback. I could see it, and of course, Alberto had already seen it, too.
"I could see it being a perfect fit for me. Certainly, it's turned out pretty well.''
Boy, has it ever.
Mendoza has won all 15 games as a starter, far and away this most wins in school history at Indiana. The previous record was 11, set a year ago. Indiana, the losingest program in college football history before Cignetti arrived, had only won nine games even once.
Indiana won its first Big Ten Championship Game under Mendoza, and were ranked No. 1 in the country for the first time ever, too. He's been nearly perfect through two playoff wins over Alabama and Oregon, and now is the star in the ultimate cool story.
He's got Indiana in the national championship game, playing the Miami Hurricanes, a team he rooted for as a kid. And he'll play them at Hard Rock Stadium, where he and his family grew up watching football, both the Hurricanes and the NFL's Miami Dolphins.
"Yeah. It's been a great journey, for all of us,'' Mendoza said. "I still remember when I was in the transfer portal, Coach Cignetti said, 'hey, if you're going to come here, you're going to develop into a hell of a quarterback.' It wasn't about, at that point, 'hey, I'm going to promise you a national championship.' It was, 'you're going to develop and have that belief.'
"It means a lot to myself, and I think I've been able to see myself, the offense, the entire team grow throughout the season. So I just think it means a lot that we've been successful, because a lot of times on social media the year before was like, oh, Indiana is a Cinderella story, but a lot of people didn't think we could do that again. But we all had the internal belief in the facility, behind closed doors, and I believe that's what helped us propel us to this moment.''
Indiana buys in to Cignetti's process, where every day is the most important day. They never get ahead of themselves, staying focuses on the task at hand. They get better every week, and continue to build on their successes.
"Yeah, I would say I've come a long way from being in Game 1,'' Mendoza said. "Game 1, I threw zero touchdown passes. I was trying to be Superman, and then the coaching staff settled me down and was like, hey, 'you don't have to be Superman. We have a great defense and a great superstars, playmakers and offense, so just do your job.'
"My job is to be effective with making really accurate balls and really great decisions, and that's what I pride myself on every single play, and so I'm glad those results came. However, none of that matters. All that matters right now is the national championship.''
Mendoza played Miami last year during his 6-7 season at Cal, and lost 39-38.
"That game came down to the wire,'' he said. "I remember running on the third down, getting knocked out by Wesley Bissainthe. I remember getting knocked out there, and we lost by one point. It was heartbreaking. So I'm just looking forward to the opportunity to play them again.
"I've actually not played in Hard Rock before, but I've been to a lot of games there. And it's a very full-circle moment for myself. If you open Google Maps and put my address, the University of Miami campus, it's under a mile away. And I walked there, biked there, played basketball rec games in the offseason there. It means a lot to me, however, I think the national championship means a lot to everybody. So I wouldn't want it any other way, on a great stage, that the Indiana Hoosiers are going to have to compete their butt off. They're a great team and really looking forward to the opportunity.''
Mendoza doesn't mind talking about his love of the Hurricanes as a kid. But he is 100 percent all in on Indiana now, and the Hurricanes are in his way.
"I have pictures on my phone and I had green and orange paint on my face with a UM hat at Hard Rock Stadium,'' Mendoza said. "So I know how much it means to the community and how much the University of Miami community has been waiting for this moment and a resurgence.
"They've always been a fantastic football program, but resurgence to the national championship level, I know how much it means. However, as a kid being a University of Miami fan, I'm also right now, like my loyalty lies to the Hoosiers. So I know how much it means to both sides. It will be the first national championship in Hoosier history. Whoever wins, it's going to mean a lot to both communities, and I want t make sure I give the Hoosiers the best chance to win.''