Fernando Mendoza has officially erased any doubt about his Heisman Trophy campaign. He orchestrated a near flawless two-minute drive that not only helped Indiana stay undefeated in a road game against the crippling Penn State Nittany Lions, but gave him his marquee Heisman moment. In the process, he might have just locked down the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s NFL Draft as well.
Mendoza didn’t play his best game, but it doesn’t matter because when the moment was brightest and all the pressure on him to pull off the comeback, he did just that. Good players find ways to win and Mendoza carved up Penn State’s defense for the go-ahead touchdown and to keep the Hoosiers atop the College Football Playoff rankings with Ohio State.
There was a lot of debate between Mendoza and Ty Simpson as the betting favorites. Regardless of what Simpson does against LSU on Saturday night, it won’t top what Mendoza did against Penn State.
Why it’s Fernando Mendoza’s Heisman Trophy to lose
I’ve been high on Mendoza pretty much since he burst onto the scene after the Hoosiers throttled Illinois earlier this season. That amplified after Mendoza waltzed into Oregon and handed the Ducks a loss last month and it was validated on Saturday. Mendoza has not only been statistically one of the top quarterbacks this year, but he’s winning the big games.
It’s hard to argue with the fact that he’s been as dominant as he has while also getting wins over Oregon and Penn State on the road. On top of that, the Hoosiers are whooping just about every other team on their schedule. Simpson has looked good this year, but he’s not as good as Mendoza.
Julian Sayin has played extremely well this year too, but he hasn’t quite moved ahead of Mendoza. Ohio State’s toughest game to date has been Penn State and it was played in Columbus. If Sayin plays like he has all season against Michigan, then you may have an argument. Until then, Mendoza is the clear favorite.
Which NFL franchise will win the Fernando Mendoza sweepstakes?
This feels very much like Mendoza is the top quarterback in the upcoming NFL Draft and everyone else is just kind of there. This really isn’t a great quarterback class and with Mendoza separating himself as the best one, it’s fair to say that he should be the No. 1 overall pick, assuming a quarterback-needy team has the first pick.
The question then becomes, which NFL team will actually have a shot at their franchise quarterback. The Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, Miami Dolphins and even the Las Vegas Raiders and Arizona Cardinals are all realistically in the market for a new, young quarterback to be the face of the team.
It’s hard to think anybody outplays Mendoza at this point to be the first quarterback selected in April’s draft and the Penn State game is proof of that because him being selected first overall isn’t just about winning the Heisman Trophy or having a good 2025 season in college. Those are all good, but it’s also about his NFL readiness.
The two-minute drive he led showed all the traits of being an NFL quarterback. He took just one sack, but re-adjusted and managed to fight through constant pressure and bad passes to move the ball down the field. He had short term memory with the missed passes and still connected on two huge plays across the middle and on the sideline.
The touchdown pass was perfect execution as well, embraced the pressure and didn’t let it affect his throw and then he delivered a pass on Omar Cooper Jr. was going to catch in the back of the end zone to seal the win. When a quarterback can have that kind of composure in that moment in an environment like Penn State, it’s all the proof you need.
Most other quarterbacks I would caution against getting too high, but with what Mendoza has done all year, this wasn’t an anomaly, this is just how good Mendoza is. He shouldn’t just win the Heisman Trophy this year, he should lock down the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft too.