Indiana Dubs Fernando Mendoza 'Best QB in College Football' Amid Heisman Chants

Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti said quarterback Fernando Mendoza prepares better than any player he's ever been around. But nothing could've readied Mendoza for the sights and sounds he witnessed Saturday evening from Memorial Stadium's Northeast corner.

At the top of section 19, an ever-growing collection of shirtless fans waved their rain-soaked shirts like towels for much of the fourth quarter during No. 3 Indiana's 38-13 win over Michigan State on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

"First of all, I want to give a shout out to the student section, sticking through the rain, and the towel waving, the shirtless towel waving," Mendoza said postgame. "I want to give a shout out to them, because that was fantastic to see them. All the players in the sideline were hyped about it.

"It got myself juiced, got the offense juiced, got the team juiced. So just quick shout out to the student section for waving the towels in the rain. What a great sight to see."

What started as a few rows quickly turned into multiple sections — and, ultimately, part of a choir singing for Mendoza's Heisman Trophy candidacy.

As the final seconds ticked off the clock, chants of "Heis-Mendoza" fell as steady as the rain from the dark skies hanging overhead. And like rain drops hitting his helmet, the chants graced Mendoza's ears.

But he hasn't let his laser-focused mind draft to such heights. He's more concerned about the Hoosiers' looming Week 9 matchup with UCLA and properly attributing credit to his teammates when the opportunity arises.

"We do have a lot of season left, and right now I'm just focused on UCLA," Mendoza said. "We have so many great players on our team, and I think we play even better when we play as one. So I'm just trying to, whatever spotlight that I might get from the offensive success, I'm just trying to dish it out to all my teammates, because they really deserve it, and they're the unsung heroes."

The Miami native doesn't necessarily pursue the spotlight. It naturally finds him.

Mendoza is the orchestrator of one of college football's best offenses, and he starred again Saturday, going 24-for-28 passing for 332 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions against Michigan State.

He tossed two touchdowns to senior receiver Elijah Sarratt, while redshirt junior Omar Cooper Jr. and senior E.J. Williams Jr. caught one apiece. Mendoza completed 11 consecutive passes across a 20-minute span in the first and second quarters, and after a pair of incompletions snapped his streak, he hit 12 straight passes from the end of the second quarter through the start of the fourth quarter.

Saturday marked Mendoza's first 300-yard passing performance with the Hoosiers. He accomplished the feat three times last season at the University of California, Berkeley, but he hadn't yet paired precision with explosiveness in Bloomington. He changed that against Michigan State.

With his star shining brighter than ever after leading Indiana to an upset win over Oregon the week before, Mendoza delivered a performance Cignetti described as his sharpest yet with the Cream and Crimson.

"Fernando was on point," Cignetti said. "He continues to improve. He continues to prepare like nobody I've ever been around, and he's getting better and better."

As for the spotlight? The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Mendoza fills it well.

"He handles it great," Sarratt said. "He doesn't even go out on social media a lot. He handles it real well. It's very impressive. Someone who's in the spotlight all the time, the way he handles it is very impressive."

Part of the reason Mendoza thrives in the light is the work he does in the dark. Cignetti said he's never seen anybody immerse themselves quite like Mendoza, who's impressed Cignetti with his organization, preparation and use of time.

Sarratt joked that Mendoza lives in the Hoosiers' facilities.

"Anytime I'm in here, he's in here," Sarratt said. "He's in here more than me, staying after hours, watching film. After practice, he goes (and) has a practice script, going over plays out there. So, he puts his time in for sure."

Mendoza desires to be great, Cignetti said, and he'll enter Week 9 with a Big Ten-best 21 touchdown passes to just two interceptions this season.

"I think he's done a good job," Cignetti said. "He's smart. He understands how to play quarterback. Before you win any game, you've got to make sure you don't lose it, right? He protects the ball. He checks it down when it's not there. He knows when he can take a sack, when he can't take a sack, and he's accurate and he's making good reads.

"He keeps building, I think, on his previous performances, and I can't say enough about things about him."

Mendoza's development hasn't stalled yet. He made steady strides from spring practice into fall camp, and he's carried his evolution into the regular season, be it through better processing, mechanics or growing chemistry with his receivers.

Naturally, Heis-Mendoza chants have followed. Indiana doesn't expect them to slow down anytime soon.

“He's just so smart," linebacker Aiden Fisher said. "He can read a defense with the back of his hand. The way he's able to get the ball out quick, know where to go with the ball. He's really good at reading defensive shells, even with a disguise. He's really good.

"His preparation sets him apart from everybody else in the country. He's just phenomenal in the way he approaches the game and the details he puts into it."

Quarterbacks have won the Heisman Trophy in seven of the past nine years. Should the trend continue, it's growing more possible the next recipient resides in Bloomington — just ask the shirtless fans in the Northeast corner or the ever-more qualified Cooper.

"Don't ever tell him I said this because he hates hearing stuff like this," Cooper said, "but I feel like we got the best quarterback in college football."