Fernando Mendoza News: Sufficient for championship

Mendoza completed 16 of 27 passes for 186 yards during Monday's 27-21 victory against Miami (FL). He also had seven rushes for negative eight yards with one touchdown.

For the first time since Week 1, Mendoza failed to log a passing touchdown, and he was more inaccurate than usual, with Monday's championship game marking only the fourth time he completed fewer than 60 percent of his pass attempts. But with 186 passing yards, a fourth rushing TD across his last five games and a valiant team effort, Indiana's team secured its first national championship. Mendoza logged an unparalleled season, with a 72.0 completion percentage on 379 pass attempts for 3,535 yards and a 41-6 TD-INT ratio to go with seven rushing TDs. It would make sense for IU's superstar quarterback to declare for the 2026 NFL Draft, where he will be a top selection. However, Mendoza has a year of collegiate eligibility remaining, and his decision for 2026 remains in question.