01/13/2026
Fernando Mendoza grew up less than a mile from the University of Miami campus. He walked there. Biked there. Played pickup basketball in the offseason. His dad was high school teammates with Mario Cristobal at Christopher Columbus High in the 1980s.
When it came time to recruit him, Miami offered a walk-on spot. No scholarship. So the three-star quarterback went to Cal instead, where he spent two seasons before transferring to Indiana in 2025.
What happened next rewrote the Hoosiers' record books. First Heisman Trophy winner in program history. First Big Ten title since 1967. First playoff appearance ever. Fifteen wins, zero losses.
On January 19, Mendoza returns to Hard Rock Stadium — the place he grew up attending games — to face the Hurricanes for the national championship. A win makes Indiana the first 16-0 team in college football history.
The program that passed on him now has to stop him from completing the greatest redemption arc the sport has ever seen.
