By Sara Jane | @saraajn_
Sports Capital Journalism Program
INDIANAPOLIS – The most anticipated night in the history of Indiana University football began with a frightening moment of apprehension.
On Indiana’s first offensive play of the Big Ten Championship Football Game against top-ranked Ohio State, just after Fernando Mendoza delivered a 9-yard completion to wide receiver Elijah Sarratt on his team’s first offensive play, the quarterback’s immediate future and Indiana’s chances suddenly appeared to be in jeopardy.
Mendoza was hit in the upper body by Ohio State senior defensive end Caden Curry and was temporarily motionless at the 19-yard line while the Indiana fans in the north end of the stadium became silent.
For just a moment, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti, who had been following the play downfield, did not know what had happened.
“I missed it,” Cignetti said. “I saw – I was looking at the coverage. And then somebody on the headset said, ‘Fernando’s down,’ and I saw him rolling around on the ground, and I was like, ‘Oh, boy.’
“And then when I saw the replay before I got out to him, it looked to me like he had got hit, not in the head, but maybe had the wind knocked out of him. And that’s what he confirmed.”
Mendoza, sitting nearby, nodded and smiled.
Indiana’s 13-10 victory over Ohio State, which gave the Hoosiers their first outright Big Ten football championship since 1945, would become known for their response to Cignetti’s halftime challenge. The coach would gather his players together at an uncharacteristically late point before leaving the dressing room.
“It was like, ‘Okay, do we have what it takes to win a gut-check, physical game like this?’” Cignetti remembered telling his players. “’This is going to be a test of our toughness and our persistence.’ And we proved that we did.”
Long before those words were spoken, Mendoza had passed his test.
He left the field momentarily while his brother Alberto Mendoza, his backup, took over for just one snap, a 1-yard run by running back Roman Hemby. Fernando Mendoza returned to the huddle on the following play as the Indiana fans cheered in their relief.
Mendoza completed 15 of 23 passes for 222 yards against a Buckeye defensive unit that had allowed just 121.3 passing yards per game, the lowest total in the nation. If there had been any doubts in the stands whether Mendoza could continue after the early hit, he said he had none as he walked off the field and briefly stood on the sideline.
“Although I got hit, I was never going to stay down,” Mendoza said. “And that’s one thing I know: one thing, I say it and I know it could be a little misinterpreted as a little criticism sometimes, but I will die for my brothers on that field. So, no matter where it’s a gut punch, whether it’s a head punch, whatever it is I’m always going to get back up.”
Cignetti knew his quarterback had met a challenge. “You know, he’s a tough guy,” the coach said. “He takes some shots and he extends plays. And can’t say enough about the way he competes. You got the heart of a champion, and played great tonight when we needed him.”
After the initial scare, Indiana’s aerial attack faced difficulties. During the first and second quarters, several deep pass attempts failed to connect against the Buckeyes’ secondary. The scenario changed in the second half as Mendoza found the rhythm needed to pierce the opposing defense.
Mendoza completed six of eight passes for 135 yards in the second half. In the third quarter, his 51-yard pass up the middle to sophomore wide receiver Charlie Becker, the type of pass that had failed earlier in the game, led to a 17-yard pass to the left to Sarratt for a touchdown with 8:02 left in the third quarter. The Hoosiers, suddenly ahead 13-10, had created Ohio State’s first second-half deficit of the season.
But it was in the fourth quarter, with the clock showing 2:41, that the Mendoza-Becker connection defined the conference championship. Facing a crucial third down, Cignetti chose not to hand the ball off. Mendoza launched a 33-yard pass to Becker, who made a leaping catch and reached the Ohio State 43-yard line.
“You’ve got to get a first down,” Cignetti said. “I wasn’t going to punt the ball back to them with two minutes to go and no timeouts. We had to give our guys an opportunity to make plays. We were getting on top of them at certain points in that game, and Fernando was throwing great deep balls.”
With the Big Ten title secured, the conversation shifts to the Heisman Trophy. Mendoza’s performance against the nation’s No. 1 defense solidified his standing for the ceremony in New York next Saturday night. True to his style, the quarterback shared the credit with the roster.
“I think it’s just such a testament to everybody on the team,” Mendoza said. “Coach Cignetti brought me in after, I think it was after UCLA, and he told me… ‘The Heisman’s a team game. It’s a team award. It’s not a player award.’ … I would love the opportunity to get the invite to New York, which would be fantastic. But I think it’s just really a testament to the team.”