BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football quarterback Fernando Mendoza pointed the finger at himself for the team’s offensive struggles Saturday in a 27-14 win over Old Dominion.
More than once.
Mendoza told reporters after the game that he was accountable for No. 19 Indiana’s uneven performance on four separate occasions. The Cal transfer also practiced what he preached by pulling wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. aside during the second quarter and apologizing for a poorly placed ball on a fade route in the end zone.
“Some of the guys said it was kind of similar to FIU last year where it might have been a little slow start, and I take accountability for that,” Mendoza said. “I got to be better so we can work more as a well-oiled machine … all those guys executed at a really high level last year, as we saw they had an 11-win season. I got to be able to insert myself and play with better timing and rhythm.”
Why Indiana football quarterback Fernando Mendoza needs to speed up the process
Mendoza fueled high expectations in Bloomington after IU’s College Football Playoff appearance. The No. 4 rated quarterback transfer threw for 3,000-plus yards last season and was among the most accurate passers in the FBS despite being sacked 40 times.
The Hoosiers decidedly mixed results against ODU disappointed fans who were hoping Mendoza would light up the scoreboard right out of the gate.
Mendoza was right there with them.
“Not up to my standard,” Mendoza said. “I needed to be on better rhythm, better timing, and better accuracy on balls down field. Personally, I let some things out there. I thought our o-line played great, running backs played great, I need to give our tight ends and receivers more time in the pass game.”
Mendoza threw for 193 yards on 18 of 31 passing (58%) and added 34 yards on the ground with a touchdown. It was only the fourth time in 20 career starts he completed less than 60 percent of his passes.
“He got off rhythm a couple of times,” Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti said. “And that’s the thing we’ve been trying to clean up with him is to speed up his process, and once the ball is snapped, keep him on rhythm.”
Mendoza chided himself for being “lackadaisical” on his progressions in the pocket.
He admitted to being thrown off a bit by the abundance of time he had to throw the ball, a problem he rarely had at playing behind a Cal offensive line that gave up 40 sacks. Per Pro Football Focus, Old Dominion only pressured Mendoza on seven of his 36 drop backs and was only credited with two quarterback hits (one sack).
“Although I had great protection, I still have to stay attentive on the process, every single play and stay in rhythm and timing so I can hit those guys out of their breaks with anticipation like we’ve been doing all fall camp,” Mendoza said.
Fernando Mendoza blames himself for Indiana football’s ‘unacceptable’ red zone failures
Indiana’s failures in the red zone were in stark contrast to how the offense (and Mendoza’s predecessor) played last inside the 20-yard line last year. The Hoosiers were a near sure thing in 2024 with a 93% scoring percentage and 55 touchdowns on 69 attempts in those situations.
Former IU quarterback Kurtis Rourke played a pivotal role in that success with a 70.2% completion percentage and 20 touchdowns on 47 pass attempts in the red zone.
There was plenty of blame to go around for the Hoosiers scoring two touchdowns on six meaningful trips inside the 20-yard line against ODU — Cignetti literally threw up his hands in disgust after one failed run attempt inside the 10-yard line late in the fourth quarter — but Mendoza focused on the role he played in those struggles by going 0 for 6 in those situations.
“That’s unacceptable,” Mendoza said. “We had fantastic drives, went right down to the 1, we got to punch those in. It’s a different game with momentum. It’s just not up to our standard.”
Mendoza told reporters he cost his team at least two touchdowns in the red zone and detailed the mistakes he made on each pass attempt starting with the one that led to his quick conversation with Cooper. He also regretted an incompletion he threw to Elijah Sarratt in the opposite end zone with 3:56 to go in the third quarter.
“It was such a great look,” Mendoza said, of his throw to Cooper. “I think I tried to place the ball instead of throwing the ball … I got to put it out there high, a jump ball, cause he’s extremely great at that as you all saw last season.
“Also, on Elijah, I need to get his fade ball a little more outside, so he could use his full extension and reach, rather than a DB putting his hand there where the ball is supposed to go. I take accountability for those two throws.”
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Why ‘accountability’ was Indiana football QB Fernando Mendoza’s word of the day after ODU
Reporting by Michael Niziolek, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
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