LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — From Bloomington to Broadway, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is officially headed to New York City as a finalist for the 91st Heisman Trophy, becoming just the second player in program history to reach college football’s most prestigious stage.
The redshirt junior from Miami has authored a dream season: 33 touchdown passes, six more on the ground, and a No. 1 playoff seed for a program that hadn’t won an outright Big Ten title since 1945. His reward? A seat next to the sport’s elite on Saturday night when the Heisman is awarded live from Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Appel Room in Manhattan (8 p.m. ET, ABC).
Mendoza joins a finalist field that includes Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin.
He’s also now in legendary company at IU, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Anthony Thompson, the only other Hoosier Heisman finalist, who finished second in 1989.
But Mendoza’s résumé might be even more compelling. He leads the nation in passing touchdowns (33), tops the Power 4 in touchdowns responsible for (39), and is the only FBS quarterback since 1996 to post multiple 90% completion games with four touchdowns against Power 4 teams.
He’s rewriting history with a highlighter. Five games with at least four passing TDs and zero interceptions. Twelve straight games with a passing touchdown. A national-best 10.9% TD rate per attempt, more than a full point above the next closest player, Ohio State’s Sayin.
He’s also added 240 rushing yards and matched his team’s second-highest total with six rushing touchdowns, further fueling Indiana’s rise to the top of the college football world.
Next up for Mendoza and the Hoosiers: A trip to the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, where they’ll face the winner of Alabama and Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff semifinal.
But first, a date with the Downtown Athletic Club.
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