The battle between No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana for the Big Ten championship also features two front-runners in the Heisman Trophy race. And while the Buckeyes’ Julian Sayin has put up some ridiculous numbers this season, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Fernando Mendoza become the first Hoosier to win college football’s highest honor.
A Miami native who played at Christopher Columbus High School, Mendoza would be the second consecutive Heisman winner from South Florida, following Boynton Beach’s Travis Hunter. The grandson of Cuban immigrants would also be just the third Hispanic or Latino Heisman winner, joining Stanford’s Jim Plunkett in 1970 and Alabama’s Bryce Young in 2021.
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Mendoza first made his mark on a surprising California offense, throwing for over 3,000 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2024 before making the jump to Indiana via the transfer portal. Coach Curt Cignetti had the perfect pitch: He turned Big Ten also-ran Indiana into an offensive juggernaut and College Football Playoff team in just one year. And he was looking for a new quarterback after starter Kurtis Rourke left for the NFL and backup Tayven Jackson entered the transfer portal.
It was an instant hit. Mendoza threw for four touchdowns in his second game with Indiana, then five in his next two games. He finished the regular season with five games with at least four passing scores and led the nation with 32 TDs, breaking Rourke’s school record of 29.
His signature moment came in an incredible comeback win at Penn State on Nov. 8. With less than 2 minutes left and trailing by four, Mendoza took a sack at his own 13-yard line, then marched down the field with some incredible throws. The last one was the coup de grace, a 7-yard touchdown strike to Omar Cooper in the back of the end zone that caused Fox announcer Gus Johnson to lose his voice.
Mendoza will try to keep the Hoosiers undefeated in his biggest test tonight. Here’s what to know about the quarterback, including his stats, Heisman odds and how to watch Indiana vs. Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game:
How old is Fernando Mendoza?
Fernando Mendoza is 22 years old. He was born Oct. 1, 2003 and grew up in South Florida, playing at Christopher Columbus High School in Miami. He was the backup quarterback on Columbus’ 2019 FHSAA Class 8A state championship team before taking over the starting role in 2020 and 2021. Mendoza earned All-Miami-Dade County honors and led the Explorers to the No. 14 ranking in the country as a junior before the team opted out of the playoffs because of the COVID pandemic.
What is Fernando Mendoza’s ethnicity?
Fernando Mendoza is the grandson of Cuban immigrants, making him one of two Latino or Hispanic Heisman favorites (alongside Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia). His father, Fernando Mendoza Sr., played alongside Miami coach Mario Cristobal at Columbus High School, which has a heavy Hispanic and Latino population.
All four of Mendoza’s grandparents were born in Cuba: Three are from Havana, and one grandfather is from Santiago. Mendoza and his younger brother, Alberto, traveled with their grandfather to Cuba to learn about their roots and experience their culture and heritage firsthand. The trip showed the brothers “what just 90 miles and different government ideologies can make,” their father said in a story for The Athletic.
Mendoza spoke in an interview with NBC Sports’ Nicole Auerbach about his Cuban heritage, saying “it’s a huge point of pride.”
Fernando Mendoza’s brother Alberto is his backup QB
Alberto Mendoza is a redshirt freshman on Indiana who followed his older brother as Columbus’ starting quarterback, leading the team to back-to-back FHSAA Class 4 Metro state championships. He was a finalist for Mr. Florida Football as a junior in 2022. Fernando called Alberto “my best friend and the person who pushes me the hardest” in an interview with the Indianapolis Star.
Alberto Mendoza initially committed to play at James Madison before switching to Indiana when coach Curt Cignetti took the Hoosiers job. He played in one game his freshman season before his brother took over the starting job for Kurtis Rourke. On Sept. 6, both Mendoza brothers threw a touchdown pass in a win over Kennesaw State, the first time brothers threw a TD pass in one game for the same team since Brandon Allen and Austin Allen for Arkansas in 2015.
Why did Fernando Mendoza leave Cal?
Fernando Mendoza committed to Cal in 2022 as a three-start recruit and was inserted as the starter in Week 6 of the 2023 season. He earned All-Pac 12 freshman team status and threw for 3,004 yards in his sophomore season before entering the transfer portal in an effort to improve his NFL draft stock.
As the No. 3 quarterback in the portal, Mendoza received several offers from programs including Miami, Georgia and Missouri before landing on Indiana. Curt Cignetti had transformed the Hoosiers from three straight seasons of eight or more losses to an 11-1 regular season and a berth in the College Football Playoff. He had an established history with getting big years out of transferred QBs at both James Madison and IU. And it didn’t hurt that his younger brother, Alberto, was already on the roster.
“That was a huge thing for me, especially having seen their offense have success and having coach (Mike) Shanahan and coach Cignetti being a part of really being able to grow their team, whether it’s at Elon, JMU or Indiana, all those teams were successful and had really good quarterback play,” Mendoza said to IndyStar shortly after joining the Hoosiers. “I just thought, ‘This is a great situation.’”
Fernando Mendoza vs Julian Sayin Heisman odds
The Big Ten championship pits two of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy: Indiana junior Fernando Mendoza and Ohio State sophomore Julian Sayin. The Buckeyes QB has put up impressive stats: 258 of 327 passing for an NCAA-leading .789 completion percentage for 3,065 yards and 30 touchdowns with five interceptions. The Hoosiers QB leads the nation with 32 TDs. They’re Nos. 1 and 2 in passer efficiency with Sayin at 184.85 and Mendoza at 183.71.
Here are BetMGM’s latest odds for the Heisman winner (as of Dec. 2):
Fernando Mendoza stats
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How to watch Ohio State vs Indiana football
Contributing: John Leuzzi, USA TODAY; Zach Osterman, Indianapolis Star
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Fernando Mendoza’s Cuban heritage leads Indiana QB to Heisman favorite
Reporting by Dan Rorabaugh, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
