Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza, Indiana smell the roses

PASADENA – After dismantling Alabama in the Rose Bowl, Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza and his younger brother Alberto were handed roses. The Indiana quarterbacks from Miami smiled and then Fernando bit into the rose for a picture. 

No. 1 Indiana dominated No. 9 Alabama so thoroughly on New Year’s Day, Mendoza had plenty of time to smell the roses. During the closing minutes of the 112th Rose Bowl, Fernando hung out on the sidelines as his younger brother took the final snaps behind center for the Hoosiers.

Indiana 38, Alabama 3.

The Hoosiers will now prepare to face Oregon on Jan. 9 in the Peach Bowl for a berth in the National Championship Game.

Confident Fernando Mendoza

“I’m very confident the way the team is playing,” Fernando Mendoza said. “It’s not just myself. I think our entire team and our coaching staff really enjoy football, and I think that’s why we work so hard at it. 

“We work really hard every single day because not only do we enjoy football, we also enjoy winning. And we know what that takes. So every single day we’re always going to put our best foot forward.”

In the second year of the 12-team College Football Playoff, Indiana is the only team to win after receiving a first-round bye. No. 10 Miami beat No. 2 Ohio State 24-14 in the Cotton Bowl on Wednesday night. 

A day later, No. 5 Oregon destroyed No. 4 Texas Tech 23-0. No. 6 Ole Miss upset No. 3 Georgia 39-34 in the Sugar Bowl.

The 26-day layoff between the Big 10 Championship Game and the Rose Bowl didn’t seem to affect Indiana. Mendoza and the Hoosiers dominated the Crimson Tide on both sides of the ball to take a 17-0 lead at halftime.

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The Hoosiers took a 24-0 lead after Mendoza threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Elijas Sarratt with 7:34 to play in the third quarter. Alabama avoided the shutout with Conor Talty’s 28-yard field goal with 2:44 to play in the third quarter. CFP teams that have received byes are 1-7 over the last two years.

Balanced attack

“It’s definitely a huge struggle,” Mendoza said. “And I think coach (Curt) Cignetti … did a fantastic job of a trickle-down effect of really making sure there was no complacency. Because you know you have, I think it was 26 days off. That’s very, very tough.

“And especially in the first drive as an offense, myself included, I think we got off to a slow start. And then other than that once we got our feet wet, we got the ball rolling and we got back to playing Indiana brand of football.”

Indiana’s offense struggled early before mounting an 8:55, 16-play drive that extended into the second quarter. Nico Radicic gave Indiana a 3-0 lead with a 31-yard field goal with 14:57 to play in the second quarter.

Fernando Mendoza’s first of three touchdown passes – a 21-yard strike to Charlie Becker – helped Indiana take a 10-0 lead with 10:49 to play in the second quarter. Mendoza added a one-yard touchdown pass to Omar Cooper Jr. to help make it 17-0 with 17 seconds left before halftime.

Fernando Mendoza completed 14 of 16 pass attempts for 192 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 16 yards on eight carries. The Hoosiers also rushed for 215 yards and two touchdowns on 50 carries. 

Senior Kaelon Black had 99 rushing yards and one touchdown on 15 carries. Roman Hemby added 89 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries. Alberto Mendoza added six rushing yards on two carries.

A step closer to Miami

“I think that’s what you would always love to see as the head coach, things we used to preach when I was at Alabama, about changing the way they think, breaking their will,” said Cignetti, a former Alabama assistant under former coach Nick Saban. “And that’s the best way to do it, running the football.”

A win in the Peach Bowl would help Mendoza return to his hometown of Miami for the National Championship Game. The Cubans in Miami will surely welcome Mendoza.

The third Latino and first Cuban American to win a Heisman Trophy sensed an appreciation from the Mexican American and Latino community in Los Angeles and Pasadena during the Rose Bowl.

“I actually have a lot of Mexican family over here,” said Mendoza, whose uncle married into a Mexican family. ”And a lot of my family from Miami came over here to go watch. And it’s such a great, historic venue, the Rose Bowl. 

“It’s such an iconic point of not only college sports, of all of sports. So I think it’s such a great opportunity for all of us to be able to to be Rose Bowl champions.”