ATLANTA, Ga. (WDRB) -- In modern college football, the soundtrack of game day is as personal as a playbook. Players warm up with AirPods in or headsets on, volume up. The beats are fast, the vibes are hyped. Everyone's got their playlist.
Everyone except Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
When WDRB's Haley Schoengart asked the Heisman Trophy winner earlier this week what he listens to before a game, Mendoza didn't mention rap or metal or country. He leaned into a different frequency altogether.
"Pregame, honestly, I don't listen to hype songs because I've got to stay calm, cool and collected," he said. "I actually meditate before the game. I meditate. I pray. And I think praying is, in a way, meditation, to help myself be in my thoughts and execute the plan."
That line — "execute the plan" — is the part that matters. Because for all the calm Mendoza projects, he's anything but casual.
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He calls his routine a "system" and he treats it like sacred architecture: consistent, deliberate, every part with a purpose. Eight hours of sleep a night. Nutrition, film, repetition. No Twitter. No doomscrolling. Only LinkedIn and YouTube on his phone. The praise and noise of the outside world, including the media swirl of a Heisman campaign, has stayed on mute.
"When I step on that field, I am confident, as I know that my preparation is unmatched," Mendoza said. "That's the most that I can do possibly. And so when I go on the field, I'm confident that my process has taken me here and that I can compete at the highest level."
Mendoza has long credited a sports psychologist for helping him bring structure to his mental preparation. He's talked about mindfulness throughout Indiana's historic run to the College Football Playoff. And in this semifinal week, he's doubled down on the idea that control and clarity — not chaos — give him an edge.
"Quarterback is a cerebral position," he said. "It's all about decision-making. So I need to stay grounded. Calm."
Mendoza's coach, Curt Cignetti, can't say enough good things about his preparation habits.
Indiana coach Curt Cignetti says Hoosier's quarterback Fernando Mendoza "prepares unlike anybody I've ever been around."
"He prepares unlike anybody I've ever been around collegiately and at the quarterback position," he said Thursday. "He wants to be great. His idol was Tom Brady. He's a real intelligent guy. You've heard in his interviews how impressive he is, and I think he's somebody that can channel all his energy into one thing and has the discipline to do that and commitment to be great. His preparation is organized and specific and detailed. Like you can work, but you've got to work smart, right? … I really can't say enough good things about what he's done since the day we got him till today, except he's got to play damn good tomorrow."
What Mendoza is doing is working. Mendoza isn't just making plays, he's managing moments. Indiana's 38–3 rout of Alabama in the Rose Bowl didn't just showcase his skill. It revealed a quarterback who doesn't shrink from expectation but steadies himself inside it. He completed 87.5% of his passes in that game, including 5 of 7 on third down.
After that game, he took a short break to reset. The spotlight followed him anyway.
"There was a lot of media attention, especially after the Heisman," he said. "But really stepping back and keeping to my process and not changing too much, that helped. I'm not reading, 'Fernando is great,' or 'Fernando sucks.' I'm listening to what my quarterback coach says and what the quarterbacks in our room think. That's where my focus is."
The only noise Mendoza is chasing Friday night at the Peach Bowl against Oregon will be the one inside a packed stadium, and maybe the one in his own head, quieted by breath and belief, right before the ball is snapped.
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