As Miami prepares to host the College Football Playoff national championship game, one potential opponent carries a storyline that cuts deep into the city’s high school football roots.
If the Indiana Hoosiers reach the title game behind Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the matchup would double as a homecoming for a Miami native whose football journey began just miles from Hard Rock Stadium — and alongside a familiar name to Hurricanes fans.
Mendoza starred at Miami (Fla.) Columbus High School but never received a scholarship offer from the hometown program he grew up watching. Now, he could return to South Florida to face the school that passed on him, led by a head coach who shares a unique personal connection to the Mendoza family.
How Mendoza is connected to Cristobal
Miami coach Mario Cristobal and Mendoza’s father were high school teammates at Columbus, a detail Cristobal recalled ahead of facing Mendoza while he was at Cal during the 2024 season.
“There’s obviously a backstory there,” Cristobal told reporters at the time. “I’ve known the Mendoza family. I played with the dad as high school teammates.”
Cristobal graduated from Columbus in 1988 and went on to play offensive line at Miami, later becoming a cornerstone of a Hurricanes program that rose to national prominence. He was part of teams that captured national championships in 1989 and 1991 and earned All-Big East honors during an era when Miami established its modern identity.
Mendoza followed a different path. After excelling at Columbus, he left the state to play college football, eventually emerging as one of the nation’s most productive quarterbacks. His transfer to Indiana Hoosiers coincided with one of the most dramatic turnarounds in recent college football history.
Indiana's historic season rolls on
Under coach Curt Cignetti, Indiana vaulted from a program ranked near the bottom nationally in winning percentage, scoring offense and scoring defense to one of the sport’s elite. The Hoosiers now rank inside the top three nationally across those metrics, fueled by Mendoza’s command of the offense and poise under pressure.
Cristobal is already familiar with Mendoza’s skill set after coaching against him at Cal, but he has noted the quarterback’s growth since becoming fully immersed in Indiana’s system.
For the Miami Hurricanes, a return to the title game would end a two-decade drought. For Indiana, it would mark the program’s first appearance on college football’s biggest stage.
And for Mendoza, it would be a fitting return to where it all started — a national championship played at home, against familiar colors, with family ties that trace back to the same high school locker room.
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