The 2025-26 college football season came to a close Monday, with the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers defeating the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes winning the CFP national title game 27-21 on Monday night. It was a thrilling end to the season, capped with a game-sealing Indiana interception.
One of the stars of the night was quarterback quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who finished with 186 yards passing and a legendary fourth-down rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.
With Indiana's victory, it marks yet another transfer quarterback winning a national title. We have seen several signal-callers go on to win a national championship. Let's run through former transfer portal quarterbacks to win it all at their new respective school.
WAY-TOO-EARLY TOP 25: Indiana starts out at No. 1
Transfer QBs to win a national title at their new schools
| Season | Player | School | Transferred From |
| 2025 | Fernando Mendoza | Indiana | Cal |
| 2024 | Will Howard | Ohio State | Kansas State |
| 2019 | Joe Burrow | LSU | Ohio State |
| 2015 | Jake Coker | Alabama | Florida State |
| 2010 | Cam Newton | Auburn | Florida/Blinn College |
Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza, 2025
Indiana's Fernando Mendoza may have one of the best seasons in college football history as a transfer portal quarterback. He arrived at Indiana from Cal as a former two-star recruit with just one power-conference offer coming out of high school.
Following three seasons at Cal, he has put together his best season at Indiana of his career. He became the first-ever Heisman trophy winner in Hoosier school history, and helped Indiana win a Big Ten title for the first time since 1967.
In the playoff, he led Indiana to wins over Alabama and Oregon. He helped bring a national title to Indiana for the first time in school history with a win over No. 10 Miami. He appears to be primed as a first-round NFL draft selection in a few months.
MORE: Heisman, NCAA championship and No. 1 pick: Mendoza completes rare triple feat
Ohio State QB Will Howard, 2024
Will Howard transferred from Kansas State to Ohio State during the 2023 offseason. During his four seasons with the Wildcats, he threw for 5,786 yards with 48 touchdowns and 25 interceptions, adding another 921 yards with 19 touchdowns on the ground. He helped K-State finish 10-4 as Big 12 champions in 2022, defeating undefeated TCU in the Big 12 title game.
But he had his best season at Ohio State during the 2024 season. Helped by having weapons like Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka, Howard threw for a career-high 4,010 yards with 35 touchdowns and 10 interceptions during the 2024 season. Although Ohio State lost to Michigan at the end of the regular season, he helped the Buckeyes in a national title with a win over Notre Dame. In the CFP, he threw for 1,150 yards with eight touchdowns and two interceptions.
Howard was drafted in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He fractured his hand during preseason, and spent most of the season in the injured reserve list, backing up Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph.
LSU QB Joe Burrow, 2019
Joe Burrow was a former 4-star quarterback prospect from the class of 2015. Originally from Ohio, Burrow spent the first two seasons with the Buckeyes. But after failing to travel up the depth chart behind J.T. Barrett and Dwayne Haskins, he transferred to LSU in May 2018.
Burrow didn't win it all right away, however. His first season at LSU in 2018, the Tigers finished 10-3, capped off with a Fiesta Bowl victory over UCF. But LSU had a phenomenal season during Burrow's second season, finishing a perfect 15-0 en route to a national championship. Burrow won the Heisman Trophy that season, and threw for 5,671 yards with 60 touchdowns and six interceptions, adding another 368 yards rushing with five touchdowns.
The Cincinnati Bengals drafted him No. 1 overall in 2020, where he's spent his entire NFL career. Although his career over five seasons has included several injuries, he led the Bengals to an AFC Championship game berth in 2021.
Alabama QB Jake Coker, 2015
College football fans may not remember Jake Coker's Alabama run vividly. But the former Tide signal-caller actually started his career at Florida State from 2011-14 before transferring to Alabama in Jan. 2014.
Coker took a redshirt at FSU in 2011. He then spent the next two seasons primarily as a backup in Tallahassee, behind Noles quarterbacks EJ Manual and Jameis Winston. He saw action in just 10 games over two seasons at Florida State, getting 21 completions for 295 with a touchdown and an interception.
He was on FSU's 2013 national-title winning squad, but a knee injury in November that season sidelined him from getting true backup reps at the end of the season.
After transferring to Alabama in 2014, he was eligible to play immediately, since he had already graduated from Florida State. Although he lost the quarterback competition that season to Blake Sims that season, he won the job in 2015. He helped lead the Tide to a 12-1 finish in the regular season that year, capped off with a 29-15 SEC title victory over Florida.
In the CFP, Alabama won big over Michigan State 38-0, then defeated Clemson 45-40 in a thrilling national title game. Coker threw for 3,110 yards with 21 touchdowns and eight interceptions on the season. He briefly spent some time with the Arizona Cardinals before getting cut in Aug. 2016.
Auburn QB Cam Newton, 2010
Cam Newton started his career at Florida. But his time in Gainesville lasted just two seasons before he left after running into off-the-field trouble with the University. He played for JUCO Blinn College in Texas for his 2009 season, where he led his team to a national title game.
He landed at Auburn in 2010, where he helped lead the Tigers to a national championship. The Tigers finished the regular season undefeated, including wins over No. 12 South Carolina, No. 12 Arkansas and No. 6 LSU. On the road against No. 9 Alabama in the Iron Bowl, Auburn overcame a 24-0 deficit to win 28-27. The Tigers then defeated South Carolina 56-17 in the SEC title game, and capped it off with a 22-19 win over Oregon in the national title game.
He won the Heisman Trophy that season, throwing for 2,854 yards with 30 touchdowns and seven interceptions, adding another 1,473 yards with 20 scores on the ground.
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