Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza looks to join elite group as both Heisman winner, CFP national champion

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza will try to become the fourth Heisman winner win a national championship in College Football Playoff history -- and just the third to go unbeaten -- after Friday night's 56-22 victory over Oregon in the Peach Bowl semifinals.

Top-ranked Indiana will face No 10 Miami on Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, a matchup of two emerging powers battling for college football's ultimate crown.

"With a strong culture, you can accomplish anything," Mendoza said on the broadcast after the game. "We have a strong culture in the locker room, our coaching staff, our administration. We're a bunch of misfits. There are zero five-stars on our team. We're just guys, glued together, trying to reach a common goal -- to win every single game."

Indiana's latest dismantling of an elite opponent was effectively decided by Mendoza's third touchdown pass of the first half, which opened a 28-point lead at intermission against Oregon. A week after nearly flawless work in the Hoosiers' quarterfinal blowout of Alabama, Mendoza finished 17 of 20 for 177 yards and five touchdowns against the Ducks.

Through two playoff wins, Mendoza has thrown more touchdown passes (eight) than incompletions (five). His five-touchdown dissection of Oregon's defense came one week after the Ducks shut out Big 12 champion Texas Tech. It ranks among the most dominant performances by a Heisman Trophy winner in playoff history, rivaling LSU quarterback Joe Burrow's seven-touchdown half against Oklahoma in 2019 and Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith's first-half explosion against Ohio State in 2020.

Burrow and Smith are the only Heisman winners to lead their programs to perfect seasons in the CFP era. The odds-on favorite to be selected No. 1 overall in April's NFL Draft, Mendoza helped Indiana secure the first No. 1 ranking in program history following its Big Ten Championship win over Ohio State and now stands poised to lead college football's first 16-0 national champion in his final start.

Indiana's 56 points against Oregon were the second-most in Peach Bowl history. Only Burrow and LSU scored more, posting 63 against Oklahoma.

Heisman winners in CFP title game

• Fernando Mendoza, Indiana QB, 2025 
• Bryce Young, Alabama QB, 2021 (lost national championship)
• Devonta Smith, Alabama WR, 2020 (won national championship)
• Joe Burrow, LSU QB, 2019 (won national championship)
• Derrick Henry, Alabama RB, 2015 (won national championship)
• Marcus Mariota, Oregon QB, 2014  (lost national championship)
  

The most notable addition in Indiana's 23-player transfer haul during the 2025 cycle, Mendoza spent two seasons at California before finding his star-potential landing spot with coach Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers.

An Indiana win over Miami -- which is seeking to become the first team to win a national title on its home field since the Hurricanes did it in 1991 -- would complete what could be considered one of the greatest coaching feats in the sport's history. Mendoza's rise has been central to Cignetti's success.

"I was very excited that we got him. When he went into the portal, it didn't take me long — in terms of plays," Cignetti said this week in an interview with CBS Sports' Jenny Dell. "When we got him, he was a little behind in the pocket relative to where I thought he would be in terms of footwork, timing, rhythm and processing. That took a little bit of time. We also had a new quarterbacks coach.

"But the development he's made -- I can't say enough great things about him. He competes like a lion. He plays his best when the game is on the line. His legs have been invaluable. He can make all the throws, he's extremely intelligent and I've never seen a guy prepare like him. That's why he's put together the kind of year he's had."

Up next for the Hoosiers is a matchup with a Hurricanes team that ranked No. 1 in the ACC in both total defense and scoring defense this season. The Hurricanes have been especially stingy in the CFP, holding Texas A&M to three points, limiting Ohio State to 14 and cooling off a red-hot Ole Miss offense in the Fiesta Bowl semifinals.