Fernando Mendoza Was Unstoppable

Indiana—yes, Indiana—won a national title in college football on Monday night because they made every single play that they needed to. This was true all year, since Indiana—yes, yes, Indiana!—went undefeated through 16 games. But after a pair of blowouts to get them to the championship, the finale put a bright spotlight on their ability of execute in the clutch. Just one dumb slip-up could have cost them their fairytale ending, but everything went right in the big moments, all the way through to the Carson Beck interception that sealed the win. And for Indiana's Heisman-winning quarterback, in probably his final game as a Hoosier, one decisive drive in the fourth quarter created an indelible image that will follow him for the rest of his life.

Just a few seconds into the final period, Indiana got the kickoff after a Miami touchdown made the score 17-14, Hoosiers. They moved the ball pretty quickly into Hurricane territory, but an incompletion on 3rd-and-five just outside field goal range presented a tough choice. After taking a timeout, Curt Cignetti opted to go for it, and Mendoza confidently completed a back-shoulder throw to a falling Charlie Becker on the sideline. That spectacular example of the team's ability to come up big in high-pressure situations was immediately one-upped on the ensuing series. Two runs and an incompletion made it 4th-and-four on the Miami 12. Again, not an easy decision, and again Cignetti called timeout to think about it. But Mendoza has spent the entire year asserting himself as the guy you want to trust in a do-or-die look, and his coach gave him the ball.

Mendoza had an option to pass, depending on the defense's strategy, but Plan A was the QB draw, and after a second of hesitation he went full speed ahead. There was a chance he could have been tripped up at the line of scrimmage by a defender, or his own blocker, but Mendoza cut to his right. He could have been caught by a pursuing defender before getting the first, but he accelerated too fast. He could have been sandwiched by two Canes in the space between a first down and a touchdown, but Mendoza battered them both, staggering but not stopping as he renewed his efforts for the goal line. Even there, he could have met destruction as he dove across, but his stretched-out body absorbed the heavy hit to his back. He didn't give up the football as he fell toward the earth, and his team was six points richer when he landed.