Heis-Mendoza finally has his Heisman moment. Throughout the season Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza has been in the Heisman Trophy conversation thanks to his consistent play and steady leadership. While his stats have been great (on par with other Heisman candidates Ty Simpson and Julian Sayin), he has yet to have a true “Heisman Moment.” That changed on Saturday.
Playing in a hostile road environment in State College, Mendoza made an impact early with his legs. The 6’5” 225lb junior scrambled for 12 yards on third down to keep a drive alive. Later in the first quarter, Mendoza ran 18 yards for a touchdown to give the Hoosiers a 7-0 lead. As a true rushing threat, Mendoza’s legs forced Penn State to defend the rush, allowing receivers like Charlie Becker to get open.
This, combined with a pair of turnovers, helped the Hoosiers grow their lead to 20-7 midway through the third quarter. The lead would be short-lived, however, as the Nittany Lions scored 17 unanswered points to take the lead 24-20, largely thanks to a Mendoza interception, which set Penn State up in great field position.
Punched in the mouth and down in the 4th quarter for just the second time all season, Mendoza and the Hoosiers had 1:51 to go 80 yards with no timeouts. Quickly the mountain to climb got even steeper as Mendoza was sacked on first down for a loss of seven. For a lesser quarterback this would be too much to overcome, but not for Fernando Heis-Mendoza. On the very next play Mendoza regained his composure and stepped up in the pocket, delivering a 22-yard strike to Omar Cooper Jr.
This first completion lit a fire inside the veteran QB, who quickly followed this up with completions to E.J. Williams Jr. and Riley Nowakowski, leading the Hoosiers all the way down to the Nittany Lions’ 24-yard line. Mendoza continued to show incredible poise as he delivered a 17-yard completion to Charlie Becker at the PSU 7.
“That first play we got a sack, and then it was like, ‘Alright here we go, 90 yards with the boys.’ We hit [Omar Cooper] on a seam and we needed that one play to get our momentum going. We know our identity as an offense, we know our coaches are great, our players are great, and so we always have unwavering confidence in each other… It was like a prime scene out of a movie.” Mendoza said after the game.
Then came the play of the game, potentially the play of the season. On third and goal, Mendoza recognized that Penn State was in an all-out blitz. Realizing that he was going to get hit in the mouth, he took a step back and threw a touchdown pass high enough to where only Omar Cooper Jr. could get it. Cooper, toe tapped and the rest is history.
“Just seeing how hard Fernando works just allowed me to know that I can trust in him no matter what the score is, no matter what is going on. Just how great of a quarterback he is, and an even better guy, so that allowed me to have the confidence in him and just know that he’s going to go out there and try and make plays for us and try and get us to where we want to go.” Cooper said after the game.
On the sidelines the poised QB, who had been so calm throughout the game-winning drive, finally let his emotions overcome him. It’s clear that Mendoza understands not just what this game means for Indiana’s season, but also for IU football history.
“Seeing Omar Cooper Jr. take a hit on the seam, seeing Pat Coogan and Kahlil Benson battling their butts off, I know that I am going to put my life on the line for this team. I would die on that field for my brothers.” Mendoza said.
If you weren’t sold on Heis-Mendoza before, now is the time to get on board.