Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza wins the Davey O'Brien award

The pinnacle of awards for quarterbacks, the Davey O’Brien Award is handed out each year to the top signal-caller in college football. The award began in 1977 and was actually only given to players from Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. After four years, the Davey O’Brien Award was opened to the rest of the country, focusing on quarterbacks, as Jim McMahon (BYU) was awarded in 1981. It is the country’s oldest and most prestigious national quarterback-focused award.

The award is named after Davey O’Brien, a record-setting quarterback from TCU. In 1938, O’Brien led the Horned Frogs to their first unbeaten season, culminating in the program’s second national championship. He was named to 13 All-American teams and became the first player to sweep the Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award, and Heisman Trophy. After his time at TCU, he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as the fourth-overall pick, where he played two seasons before retiring to join the FBI.

This year, Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza just kept piling up awards for his unprecedented play for the Hoosiers, winning the Davey O’Brien Award. Mendoza is the first Indiana player to do so. He won a hotly contested battle against Ohio State’s Julian Sayin and Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed.

Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza Wins Davey O’Brien Award

Mendoza came into 2025 with high expectations. After spending two years at Cal, fresh off a 3,000-yard season as a sophomore, Mendoza jumped into the portal to join Curt Cignetti’s program. The Hoosiers were a program on the rise, fresh off a surprising CFP appearance. As a result, he’s taken the Hoosiers to unprecedented heights.

Heading into the postseason as the number-one overall seed in the College Football Playoff, Mendoza has 2,980 yards and the most touchdowns in the nation with 33. After taking it easy and getting his feet wet in the opening game, Mendoza has scored at least once in each of the last 12 games. Additionally, he has five games with at least four passing touchdowns under his belt.

The last time we saw him, Mendoza was solid against the top defense in the country in the Big Ten Championship. On paper, he threw for 222 yards and one touchdown with one interception. However, those numbers do not tell the whole story. He made the big-time throws of a true franchise quarterback. His touchdown pass to ultimately put the Hoosiers ahead and win the game was about as perfect as he could have done.

Mendoza is also a finalist for the Heisman Trophy and won the Maxwell Award. He took home the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award already this week.

His Hoosiers have a bye and will play the winner of Alabama and Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl.