Fernando Mendoza has learned to savor the moments as he chases Heisman, No. 2 Indiana seeks title

robert indiana field general Fernando Mendoza took a legal brief rest period from take study Wednesday to reflect on his incredible season and another historic Hoosiers run.

He certainly deserves to take a bow — though he won't, even on a bye week.

Mendoza knows he can't stray from his usual routine — not with a chance for No. 2 Indiana to retain the Old Oaken Bucket and clinch the program's first Big Ten title game appearance next weekend at Purdue in what could be a fitting regular-season finale for Mendoza. And that's why he's here now in college football's Week 13 as one of the Heisman Trophy frontrunners.

“It's going to be a tough, gritty match-up and I think it might snow over there, which would be really interesting," Mendoza said. “I just can't wait to get a bite at the rivalry, just to be able to experience it, to play in it against such a great team. It's just such an honor to play Purdue and to see the Purdue rivalry in basketball and really just see how the alumni harp on it."

In some ways, he sounds like another quarterback with Indiana ties who savored every precious moment of his final college season: Peyton Manning, who famously conducted the Tennessee band one time.

Mendoza seems to have embraced every aspect of the Indiana way, right down to the in-state rivalry. Mendoza is a newcomer to this bitter in-state series, having grown up in Miami and then spending his first three college seasons at California.

Yet he's been around Bloomington long enough to understand how much a loss to the Boilermakers would tarnish everything the Hoosiers have achieved this season.

They still hold the highest ranking in school history, are 11-0 for the first time and need one more win to break the single-season school record. They are two wins from claiming their first conference crown since 1967. They ended the nation's longest active regular-season and home winning streaks with a victory at then-No. 3 Oregon, earned their first ever victory at Penn State and captured the Old Brass Spittoon for the third consecutive year, marking the first time that had happened since the late 1960s. All of it has put the Hoosiers on the cusp of a second straight playoff berth and a potential first-round bye.

Those are the feats Mendoza prefers to celebrate.

“We are so blessed to be 11-0 at this point, and right now we're just focused on being 1-0 ," he said. "There are challenges with the spotlight, but honestly, it's a great opportunity to give the praise to the other people around this program that they deserve.”

While Mendoza sees success in a broader sense, those outside the program tend to take a narrower view.

They remember Mendoza's magical moments — beating an Iowa blitz with a quick-hitting throw to Elijah Sarratt for the winning score with less than 90 seconds to play in September, his resilience to rally the troops at Oregon after throwing a late Pick-6 that tied the score in October and perhaps the play of the college football season — his last-minute TD pass and Omar Cooper Jr.'s toe-tap to beat Penn State two weeks ago.

They also see the gaudy numbers.

Mendoza's final TD pass in Saturday's victory over Wisconsin broke Indiana's single-season school record. He now leads the nation with 30 touchdown passes and ranks second nationally in passing efficiency at 184.84 behind only Julian Sayin of No. 1 Ohio State thanks in part to his eye-popping completion percentage of 73.0%.

His play hasn't just captured the attention of Heisman voters or college football fans, either.

“He's fun to watch. He’s a really good player, a good passer," Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones said when asked about a conversation he had with Mendoza. "You can tell he’s smart and knows where the ball is supposed to go. So, it’s been fun to watch him, and it was good to talk to him and catch up and hear about how things are going at Indiana and kind of how he’s been processing this season.”

The only question now seems to be whether Mendoza can cap his first, and likely only season at Indiana, with the storybook ending by winning college football's most prestigious award and the national championship he's been dreaming about.

Until then, though, Mendoza intends to heed the advice of former Southern California star quarterback turned broadcaster Matt Leinart to enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime ride.

“His advice was similar to what I got from a lot of the others, but it really stuck with me is this only happens once — unless you’re Tim Tebow,” Mendoza joked. “A lot of people only go through this once, and they end up heading to the NFL or just things happen, so just enjoy it. Take the present moment in. This is so special that although you can kick the can down the road, what an honor it is and how grateful, just giving all the glory to God and how great it is that I’m in this situation.”

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