Indiana's Fernando Mendoza has signature moment in Heisman campaign

News Correspondent
Indiana's Fernando Mendoza has signature moment in Heisman campaign image

On the road with 1:51 seconds left, Indiana’s Heisman Trophy hopeful quarterback Fernando Mendoza boosted his own campaign. 

In crunch time, Mendoza led his team on a 10-play 80-yard fourth quarter drive to go ahead 27-24. He was 5-of-9 for 77 yards and set up wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. To make the best catch of his career for the score. The amazing falling toe-tapping catch in the back of the end zone boosted Mendoza’s touchdown total to 31 on the season.

Winning in a hostile environment against a team starving for a victory and playing hard is the type of win every Heisman campaign needs. Now Mendoza has that on his resume.

Quest for the Heisman

Loudly criticized for not being flashy enough or even “special enough,” Mendoza’s biggest detractors claim there isn’t enough hero ball to his game. As he entered Beaver Stadium with 29 total touchdowns tied for first in the nation, there was no doubt he was him. Since transferring from Cal, Mendoza has been set to prove everyone wrong. Yet he doesn’t get the respect he deserves.

Mendoza showed what he could do on the ground. His highlight run of the day was an 18-yard scramble which saw him finish it off by taking a big shot as he crossed the goal line. Numerous times when plays broke down, he bought time with his legs. Often eluding the rush when he wasn’t having to break out of sacks and turning negatives into positives.

Elite execution outweighs elite athletes

Being a game manager is supposed to be a derogatory term for quarterbacks. Meaning, they don’t do anything special and rely on the system to be successful. The problem with that logic is that is exactly what every NFL coach and offensive coordinator is looking for. A signal-caller who can be a steady hand in the game and execute to the best of his ability. 

Mendoza is big, runs sneaky well, is accurate with his throws, and elite with his processing. His arm is big enough to hit deep shots and consistently make good throws (not always great). But, what he’s special at is continuing to plug away and get what’s there for him to take. If Mendoza can replicate his executional success from Indiana and take it to the NFL, he can be a quarterback in that league for a long time.

As for now, we might be witnessing the next Heisman Trophy winner a few weeks away from taking home some hardware.  

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Senior Editor