ATLANTA (AP) — Indiana is headed to the national championship game for the first time in program history. For Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza, that means a chance to end a fairytale season in the place where his story first began.
It's been a historic season for Indiana, and Mendoza is largely to credit. Indiana won its first Big Ten title since 1967, beat Ohio State for the first time since 1988, earned the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff, won its first Rose Bowl, and in December, Mendoza became the program's first Heisman Trophy winner.
After a five touchdown performance and 56-22 rout of Oregon in the Peach Bowl, there's now just one item left on the checklist for Mendoza and the Hoosiers — and that's beating Miami on its home turf in the championship game.
It will be a homecoming for the quarterback, who grew up in Miami and attended Christopher Columbus High School, roughly 30 minutes south of Hard Rock Stadium.
"I've actually not played in Hard Rock before, but I've been to a lot of games there," Mendoza said. "It's a very full circle moment. If you open Google Maps and put my address to the University of Miami campus, it's under a mile away."
Mendoza said he often biked and walked over, played rec basketball and spent the offseason training on campus, but the Miami and Mendoza connections don't end there. Mendoza's dad was a high school teammate of with Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal.
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The Heisman winner is familiar with the Hurricanes. He played for two years at California, including the program's inaugural season in the ACC in 2024, before transferring to Indiana in 2025. He faced his hometown team once, in October 2024, and threw for 285 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in a 39-38 loss.
He's looking forward to a rematch.
“They did switch defensive coordinators and last year was a very different offensive scheme as well,” Mendoza said. “It was a tight game. Cam Ward, who ended up being the No. 1 overall pick. That game came down to the wire... We lost that one by one point. It was heartbreaking, so just looking for the opportunity to play them again.”
Mendoza has performed well under bright lights, and the Peach Bowl was no exception. He finished the game completing 17 of 20 passes for 177 yards and five touchdowns. He added 28 rushing yards on six carries and had a passer rating of 241.8.
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